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Corey S Powell @coreyspowell@mastodon.social · last month

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This is what it looks like when a planet dies.

K2-22b orbits so close to its star that its outer layers are vaporizing, meaning that we can directly study the insides of a world 787 light years away.

(JWST data, left; artist's interpretation, right)

https://eos.org/articles/scientists-finally-get-a-good-look-at-a-disintegrating-exoplanet #space #science #nature

Rocky exoplanets that get too close to their star can slowly evaporate, leaving a trail of material in their wake. The JWST observatory measured the compounds vaporizing from planet K2-22b (left). An artist’s illustration of a disintegrating planet shows how light is affected as it passes through the exoplanet’s tail (right).

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Corey S Powell @coreyspowell@mastodon.social · last month

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Studies of dying world K2-22b show that "there's still meat left on the bones," researchers say.

For an planet, the "meat" is silicate from an outer rocky outer layer, along with surprising signs of carbon dioxide and nitric oxide.

Research article here:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08301

A JWST image of the star K2-22 and its smaller companion star. The disintegrated planet is too small to observe directly.

Corey S Powell @coreyspowell@mastodon.social · last month

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Depending on my mindset, a dying planet makes me think of events happening right now...or it reminds me of Superman.

For Superman fans, K2-22b is a disintegrating planet circling a distant red star. I wonder if one visionary scientist there tried to warn of impending doom...

A 𑐴𑐶𑐟𑐶 (hiti) is an ancient Newah urban water feature: a stepped, sunken courtyard with waterspouts and a central pool. These are fed through a remarkable network of pipes, reservoirs, and irrigation systems drawing water from mountain springs dozens of kilometres away. Every day, hundreds of people from the neighbourhood come to draw water, bathe, and exchange news. They are a unique and precious feature of Newa urban architecture through which neighbourhoods are created.

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