News Astronomy

Mini-Neptunes may become super-Earths as the exoplanets lose their atmospheres

The puffy planets’ atmospheres are being stripped away thanks to radiation from their stars

illustration of a mini-Neptune exoplanet

Starlight can erode the atmospheres of some mini-Neptune exoplanets (one illustrated), gradually turning them into super-Earths, rocky worlds a bit bigger than our own.

Adam Makarenko/Keck Observatory

By Liz Kruesi

- More than 2 years ago

Mini-Neptunes and super-Earths may have a lot more in common than just being superlatives.