Clingy planets can trigger own doom, suspect Cheops and TESS

Astronomers using the European Space Agency’s Cheops mission have caught a clingy exoplanet that seems to be triggering flares of radiation from the star it orbits. These tremendous explosions are blasting away the planet’s thick atmosphere, causing it to shrink every year.

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[Image description: This infographic titled 'Clingy planets can trigger own doom' explains how the planet HIP 67522 b, which orbits very close to its host star HIP 67522, triggers flares of light from the star it orbits. The main image features a bright yellow-orange star with swirling magnetic lines and a small red planet nearby, with four insets highlighting specific steps in the process. The first inset shows the planet orbiting close to the star within its powerful magnetic field. The second inset illustrates how the planet stores magnetic energy and sends it back as waves along the star's magnetic field lines. The third inset depicts where these waves meet the star's surface, triggering a bright flare of light. The fourth inset shows these flares blasting away the planet's wispy atmosphere, causing it to shrink every year.]