Exoplanet WASP-69b's Comet-Like Tail Offers Insights into Planetary Evolution

The 'Hot Jupiter' exoplanet, losing atmosphere at a rate of 200,000 tons per second, provides a rare opportunity to study atmospheric mass loss in real time.

• Exoplanet WASP-69b, located 160 light-years from Earth, has a comet-like tail of helium gas that is 350,000 miles long, seven times the width of the planet itself.
• The tail is formed as the planet's atmosphere is blown off by solar wind from its host star, a process that is happening at a rate of 200,000 tons per second.
• The planet, a 'Hot Jupiter', completes an orbit around its star in just 3.9 Earth days and is constantly bathed in intense radiation.
• Despite losing one Earth mass every billion years due to its exuding atmosphere, WASP-69b is expected to retain most of its atmosphere throughout the lifetime of its star.
• Observing WASP-69b provides a rare opportunity to study atmospheric mass loss in real time, which could shed light on the evolution of planets and their stars.

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