Exoplanets

The ultrahot Jupiter KELT-18 b is currently losing its outer gaseous layers into space. This process, known as photoevaporation, happens when the intense radiation from a host star strips away the atmosphere of a planet. Observations have now confirmed the presence of a specific helium signature in the planet's escaping gas, providing a clear window into how these massive worlds interact with their parent stars over time. To measure this atmospheric loss, the CARMENES spectrograph was used to...