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Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered a Jupiter-sized exoplanet that is being fried by the radiation from its parent star. The study determined that the star plan is getting extended so fast that it must be evaporating, losing more than 10 times the mass of Jupiter every billion years. This baby world is only 8 million years old, located some 330 light-years from Earth, and orbits perilously close to its host star, at a distance of 8.2 million miles. The powerful X-rays it is bombarded with are slowly blowing away the planet’s atmosphere, and it’s at risk of being stripped bare and turned into a rocky core in a billion years or so.

X-ray Radiation From Host Star Is Rapidly Stripping Baby Exoplanet TOI 1227 b’s Atmosphere

As per a NASA statement, the planet’s mass—roughly 17 times that of Earth—is not enough to resist the high-energy onslaught from its parent star, which, despite being cooler and less massive than our Sun, emits stronger X-rays. By analysing Chandra observations alongside computer models, Attila Varga of the Rochester Institute of Technology and colleagues concluded that the exoplanet sheds the equivalent of Earth’s atmosphere every 200 years or so. “It’s almost incomprehensible what’s happening to this planet,” Varga stated.

X-rays are vital for the study of the evolution of planets in systems far away from our own, say co-authors Joel Kastner. The radiation not only heats TOI 1227 b’s atmosphere but also inflates it, making it more vulnerable to escape. Over time, this process will cause the planet to lose more than 10% of its mass, equal to two Earths. “The future for this baby planet doesn’t look great,” mentioned Alexander Binks of Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.

To determine the planet’s age, researchers analysed the motion of its host star relative to other populations of stars and then used models of its brightness. TOI 1227 b is a rare object among planets with an age less than 50 million years since it is hosted by a low-mass star and has a long orbital period of 28 days. But the planet is already past its expiration date.

The team’s findings, which shed light on the impact of high-energy environments on young planets, have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal and are available in preprint on arXiv.

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Hubble Unveils Dark Matter Web in Stunning Abell 209 Galaxy Cluster Image

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July 20, 2025

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Hubble Unveils Dark Matter Web in Stunning Abell 209 Galaxy Cluster Image

NASA/ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope has released a striking new picture of the large galaxy cluster Abell 209, 2.8 billion light-years from us in the Cetus constellation. The enormous cluster contains over 100 galaxies held together by gravity, but what is seen is only half the tale. Underneath the shining galaxies is a tangled web of unseen scaffolding—hot, diffuse gas and a vast amount of dark matter. Although invisible, these elements define the universe through their gravitational pull. The strong lenses of Hubble enable scientists to study these invisible elements and the twisted spacetime that they create.

Technological advancement

According to NASA website, the new image was taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Twelve exposures taken through different color filters were combined to make the full view. The final picture has a golden glow from dozens of bright elliptical galaxies clustering at the center, along with a few blue spiral galaxies at the edges. , Hubble avoids Earth’s blur to make distant galaxies appear pinpoint-sharp . In visible light, the largest galaxies appear as smooth golden orbs, while the spiral galaxies shine a faint blue. Hubble demonstrates a technological brilliance by merging optical and infrared data into one striking cosmic portrait.

Scientific revealations

Hubble scientists say images like this can help answer fundamental questions about dark matter and dark energy. The space between Abell 209’s galaxies is laced with X-ray–hot gas and dominated by dark matter. Only about 5% of the cosmos is ordinary matter; roughly 25% is dark matter and 70% is dark energy.

A massive cluster acts like a natural lens: its gravity slightly warps the light from more distant galaxies. In the Hubble image, a few faint background galaxies appear stretched into curved streaks. By measuring these distortions, scientists can map the cluster’s total mass (including dark matter). This lets them test theories about how the universe has grown under the influence of dark matter and dark energy

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Magnetic Wave Detection Uncovers Elusive Lithium in Mercury’s Thin Exosphere

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July 20, 2025

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Magnetic Wave Detection Uncovers Elusive Lithium in Mercury’s Thin Exosphere

Using a new technique based on magnetic-wave analysis, scientists have, for the first time, discovered lithium in the atmosphere of Mercury. Published in Nature Communications, the study constitutes the first detection of lithium around the smallest planet in our solar system. The exosphere of Mercury, Unlike thickened atmospheres, the thin shell of particles that constitutes Mercury’s exosphere can render direct searching methods inadequate. Instead of searching for atoms, scientists analysed pick-up ion cyclotron waves—an electromagnetic fingerprint left behind when solar wind interacts with freshly ionised lithium. These faint signals finally confirmed lithium’s long-speculated presence.

MESSENGER Data Reveals Lithium Traces from Meteoroid Impacts in Mercury’s Exosphere

As per the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the research team led by Daniel Schmid reviewed four years of magnetic field data collected by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. Twelve short-lived events—each lasting mere minutes—revealed these lithium-specific wave signatures.

The waves are generated when solar ultraviolet radiation ionises lithium atoms, and temporary lithium wind blows the ionised atoms into space, which increases the speed of the formation of electromagnetic instabilities. These perturbations induce oscillations at a single cyclotron frequency, determined by the mass and charge of lithium (such that it is identified as lithium indirectly by magnetic measurements).

Lithium has been difficult to find, as the rare alkali metal is thinly scattered. The traditional particle detectors on Mariner 10 and MESSENGER couldn’t directly capture it. The most likely candidate is meteoroid impacts, which would cause heated vapour clouds in the collision and throw lithium into the exosphere.

Mercury’s surface is continuously replenished by extraterrestrial bombardment, according to a study linking detected events to meteoroid strikes by objects 13-21 centimetres in radius. These high-speed collisions can vaporise up to 150 times their own mass, endowing the atmosphere with volatiles such as lithium.

Schmid’s study reveals that such processes could also account for the retention or acquisition of volatile elements in other airless bodies, which would transform our understanding of the geochemical story of Mercury and open up new steps in exosphere exploration.

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Indian Scientists Unravel the Mystery Behind Rare Aurora Over Ladakh

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July 20, 2025

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Indian Scientists Unravel the Mystery Behind Rare Aurora Over Ladakh

In a village in Ladakh, there was experienced an eruption in the sky which turned the sky into red and green auroras on May 10, 2024. This has not been seen in the past 10 years. It got triggered by the fiery solar storm, called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) which are magnetised and thrown from the Sun at a million km per hour distance. Such arruptions in masses, triggered by the filament eruptions and solar flames sped to millions of kilometer towards our planet. This kind of rare aura has been ignited from the fiery solar storm.

Indian Scientists Investigate

According to organiser, The indian scientists’ team, led by Dr. Wageesh Mishra, used the data from NASA, ESA and other ground facilities to find this auroral phenomenon at the Indian Astronomical Observatory, by applying the Flux Rope Internal State (FRIS) model in order to broaden the coronograph images. The evolving temperature, magnetic fields and structure of the Coronal Mass Ejections were mapped at the time of interplanetary journey. This is the first global study to chronicle CME thermal dynamics from the Sun to Earth, which is published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Unexpected Reheating of CMEs

In contrast to the expectations, the CMEs didn’t cool with their expansion. In fact, they heat up at their midway, absorbing heat and maintaining a constant temperature over time they impact Earth. This thermal restructuring is due to the collision of two CMEs, where the electrons release high temperatures and ions release mixed lower and higher temperatures predominantly.

Magnetic Collision Triggers Lights

Data from NASA’s Wind Spacecraft, when a solar storm reached Earth, shows that the plasma covered Earth in double flux ropes. These are twisted magnetic structures which can trigger potential geomagnetic disturbances. Such an entangled magnetic field brought auroras as far south. i.e. Ladakh, and produces a spectacular light show that was seen by the citizens of that place.

Global Impact and Research Breakthrough

This finding held significant implications for global space weather forecasting and India. Through the understanding of the interaction of CMEs’ thermal and magnetic changes, the scientists could better develop the early-warning systems for power grid issues, navigation outages and satellite disruptions.

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