These Mini-Neptunes Are Changing From Puffy Planets To Super-Earths
Astronomers have reported the discovery of two 'mini-Neptune' planets that are slowly losing their atmosphere in space owing to the radiation from their star and are slowly turning into another class of exoplanets called super-Earths. To understand the significance of the latest research, one must first understand the idea behind these cosmic objects. Simply put, exoplanets are planets that orbit another star beyond Earth's solar system. So far, thousands of them have been discovered, and they come in all shapes and sizes with their own unique composition.
They've been divided across four categories — gas giants (usually the size of Jupiter and Saturn, or much larger), Neptunian (rocky planets similar to Neptune and Uranus), super-Earths (terrestrial planets that are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune), and terrestrial (similar to Earth in size and composition). Further studies have led scientists to develop a new class called mini-Neptunes, which are smaller than Neptune but still bigger than Earth. They have a thick atmosphere made predominantly of Hydrogen and Helium. Late last year, astronomers spotted an object called M51-ULS-1b that might be the first exoplanet seen outside the Milky Way galaxy.
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A new study claims to have observed two mini-Neptunes that are losing their atmosphere due to the X-rays and ultraviolet radiation coming from their star and are slowly turning into super-Earths. Now, barely a few planets that fall in the size bracket between mini-Neptunes and super-Earths have been detected so far, with scientists suspecting that mini-Neptunes are transforming into the super-Earths. Using the W. M. Keck Observatory's
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