"14-inch Satellite Unveils Secrets of Evaporating 'Hot Jupiters'"

The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) satellite, a small cubesat, has observed the atmospheres of seven "hot Jupiters" and found variations in their evaporation rates. Hot Jupiters are gas giants that orbit close to their stars, causing their atmospheres to expand and become more susceptible to being blown away by radiation winds. CUTE detected different rates of atmospheric loss among the studied exoplanets, with some losing material rapidly while others showed no detectable gas loss. The findings could provide insights into the processes of atmospheric loss on both large and small scales, including the evolution of smaller worlds like Mars.