Fonte foto: Janine Fohlmeister, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam
Just 400 light years from the earth is found Hip 67522 b. It is a giant giantwhose destiny seems to be written. It is not of those with happy ending, to put it in simple terms: it will end up on fire. This orbiting planet is alone 7 days from its star. For this reason, continuous eruptions of matter undergoes the so -called flare, which dilate its atmosphere and inflame it.
A planet destroyed by eruptions
The earth is a unique example, as far as we know. Our species is in fact looking for life in the universe but, to date, our planet continues to be the exception that confirms the rule.
For example, it boasts a “safety distance” from the sun, which protects us from the dangers of the “space weather”. Our radio communications resist and the atmosphere repairs us from radiation. What more do you want? Maybe don’t destroy this fragile balance, but this is another story.
Hip 67522 b does not have this same fortune. Belongs to a young system (17 Myr), but above all orbit so close to his star that he is in the so -called active area, known for the powerful Flare youth.
Every time the planet crosses the magnetic field lines, it generates explosions on the stellar disc. This then entails a real bombing of energy jets. The result is extreme atmospheric inflation.
We have various information on this planet, which has just 5% of the mass of Jupiter. At the same time, however, it has a diameter comparable to our gaseous giant. The swollen atmosphere is the mirror of a heat that continues in its pumping of energy, in a tank that is now at the limit.
Destroyed magnetic bond
The precise mechanism has not yet been completely understood by scientists. However, just two scenarios are plausible:
- Direct magnetic interaction, which sees the planet “graft” the star, closing the circuit on field lines that concentrate energy in localized flare, just above the body of the planet;
- Radiative feedback, with starred eruptions, multiplied by the magnetic field, which send waves of high energy radiation, which further heat the atmosphere and increase the radius.
Over time, this sort of rain of radiation Intense could strip Hip 67522 b of its outermost gaseous casing.
Some evolutionary models show how, in a few hundred millions of years, it could also shrink until they become a “Hot Neptune“. A particular definition that indicates a planet with a mass of Neptune, but still red -hot. However, it is not to be excluded that it can sink into the category of”Sub Neptune“, That is, a common type in close orbits, but absent in our sun system.
An uncertain future
Hip 67522 B is a natural laboratory, ideal for studying the evolution of planets close to their star. The acceleration of mass loss, together with extreme inflation, offer a cross -section on how a “young Jupiter“It can be transformed into” hot Neptune “, as well as in a smaller rock body, in” just “a few hundred millions of years.
This discovery published on July 2, 2025 in the magazine Natureexpands our understanding of the star-pianetic interactions. It also challenges the planetary training models. If such a young world can already be “toasted” by their sun, what will happen to the hundreds of tightened exoplanets in the infernal orbits that the hunters of Esopianeti are discovering every year?
