An artist’s illustration depicts a Jupiter-sized planet to the lower left closely orbiting a faint red star. New data from Chandra shows that powerful X-rays from the star’s surface are tearing away the atmosphere of the planet represented by the blue tail. Astronomers used X-ray data from Chandra (separate image) to measure the amounts of X-rays from TOI 1227 that are striking the planet. They estimate that the planet is losing a mass equivalent to a full Earth’s atmosphere about every 200 years, causing it to ultimately shrink from the size of Jupiter down to a small, barren world.

This tactile plate is a physical relief map based on the intensity of Chandra X-ray data, featuring a small bump, which represents a dim star, closely orbited by a Jupiter-sized planet. Astronomers used the Chandra data to measure the amount of X-rays striking the planet from the star. They estimate that the planet is losing a mass equivalent to a full Earth’s atmosphere about every 200 years, causing it to ultimately shrink from the size of Jupiter down to a small, barren world.