Swiss Space Telescope CHEOPS Discovers 'Suicidal Planet'

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Thanks to the Swiss space telescope CHEOPS, astronomers have discovered a“suicidal” planet. Named HIP 67522 b, this exoplanet triggers solar flares so powerful that they literally blow away its atmosphere, causing it to shrink. This content was published on July 2, 2025 - 17:15 3 minutes Keystone-SDA

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According to the European Space Agency (ESA), this planet could shrink from the size of Jupiter to that of Neptune over the next 100 million years. This is the first evidence of a“suicidal” planet, according to this work published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Such eruptions can also occur on our star, the Sun, when its magnetic field twists. Large quantities of radiation and charged particles are then projected into space. When these particles encounter the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, they can produce the aurora borealis.

A very young star

But scientists have now shown for the first time that a planet can trigger such eruptions. Since the 1990s, astronomers have speculated that certain planets could orbit so close to their parent star that they could disrupt its magnetic field, triggering flares.

The planet HIP 67522 b offered the perfect conditions for this: it is very close to its star. It takes just seven days to circle it.

More More How a special telescope learns about new planets

This content was published on Oct 26, 2020 The Swiss-led CHEOPS space telescope observes bright stars known to host planets.

Read more: How a special telescope learns about new planet

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