Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Produced by: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)
WASP-69 b, a gas giant, is trailed by a 350,000-mile-long helium tail blown by stellar winds, confirmed through recent observations at the W. M. Keck Observatory.
The massive tail forms as stellar wind pushes helium and hydrogen escaping from the planet's atmosphere, shaping the gas into a windsock-like structure.
WASP-69 b loses 200,000 tons of gas every second due to the intense heat from its nearby star, shedding up to seven Earth masses over its 7-billion-year lifetime.
Once speculated but now confirmed, this comet-like tail was revealed in a study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics using precise measurements of the planet’s surroundings.
The tail allows scientists to study stellar winds from distant stars, providing clues about their intensity and how they interact with planetary atmospheres.
Without stellar wind, the escaping gas would form a spherical halo around the planet. Increased stellar wind shapes the gas into a dramatic tail, offering insights into planetary evolution.
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This discovery sheds light on how gas giants like WASP-69 b form, evolve, and lose atmospheric mass over billions of years in extreme conditions near their host stars.
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Lead author Dakotah Tyler from UCLA emphasized how this extended tail reveals the intricate relationship between planets and their stellar environments.
NASA noted this finding could guide future research into exoplanetary systems, helping scientists understand the atmospheric processes shaping distant worlds.