Astronomers Discover Exoplanet WASP-69b Has 350,000-Mile-Long Tail

The 'hot Jupiter' loses its atmosphere at a rate of 200,000 tons per second due to the intense heat of its host star, forming a tail seven times its own length.

Astronomers have discovered that the exoplanet WASP-69b, roughly the size of Jupiter and located about 160 light-years from Earth, has a tail at least 350,000 miles long.
The tail is formed by the planet's atmosphere escaping into space due to the intense heat of its host star, and being shaped by stellar winds.
The planet, sometimes dubbed 'hot Jupiter', orbits its host star incredibly close, completing an orbit in less than four Earth days.
Despite losing its atmosphere at a rate of 200,000 tons per second, WASP-69b is not in danger of losing its entire atmosphere within the star's lifetime due to its large mass.
The discovery of the tail provides a rare opportunity to study atmospheric mass loss in real time and understand the critical physics that shape thousands of other planets.

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