Sputnik International
By Alexandra Kashirina
February 7, 2022
Mini-Neptunes are a commonly seen type of exoplanet that orbit close to their stars. Like our Solar System’s Neptune, they are mostly composed of hydrogen and helium but have a denser atmosphere.
Astrophysicists from the California Institute of Technology have discovered two mini-Neptune planets that are losing their atmosphere due to radiation from their parent stars and becoming a different type of exoplanet, super-Earths, according to a study published in The Astronomical Journal.