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The mystery of shrinking planets is probably almost partially solved.

    The mystery of shrinking planets is probably almost partially solved. 


Shrinking exoplanets are planets that mysteriously lose their mass or size. The origin of the shrinking exoplanets that lose their atmosphere is in the mysterious gap in planet size. That gap is in planets size 1,5-2 times of Earth. Some researchers think that sub-Neptunes somehow shrink to the size of super-Earths. Most of the mass and size of sub-Neptunes is the atmosphere. And if the atmosphere's size is very large the small planet's gravity and magnetosphere cannot protect that atmosphere. 

The reason why Uranus and Neptune have those large atmospheres is that they are cold planets far from the Sun. If those planets start to move to the Sun solar wind starts to blow those gas layers away. And maybe the reason for shrinking exoplanets is that those planets change their trajectory, especially in young solar systems. 



"Artist’s concept of sub-Neptune exoplanet TOI-421 b. (NASA, ESA, CSA, and D. Player [STScI])" (ScienceAlert.com/Planets Are Mysteriously Shrinking, And We May Finally Know Why)


"Scientists think this is because some sub-Neptunes shrink — losing their atmospheres and speeding through the size gap until they are as small as a super-Earth". 

https://www.sciencealert.com/planets-are-mysteriously-shrinking-and-we-may-finally-know-why

That phenomenon is sometimes connected with the planet's atmosphere. Most of the shrinking exoplanets are rocky worlds like Earth. The shrinking exoplanets are sometimes like sub-Neptunes. The size of super-Neptunes is about four times of Earth. And super-Earths have the size of 1,6 times of Earth. 

When an exoplanet comes close to its star its temperature rises. That thing causes an effect where the planet just blows its atmosphere away. So radiation impulse that comes from the planet's core or shell causes a phenomenon where it pushes its atmosphere away. 

But then we must realize one thing. Another reason for shrinking could be that the planet somehow loses its magnetic field. That causes a reaction where the solar wind blows that atmosphere away. In some other models, something causes an effect where particles with opposite polarity impact somehow near the magnetic poles of the planet. Those ion-anion impacts rises temperatures near those poles and they send shockwaves through the atmosphere. Then those shockwaves raise the temperature at the equator, where centripetal forces push the atmosphere away. But those are only models. And the mystery is not yet solved. 



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"NASA scientists have been puzzling over a group of planets that seem to be shrinking. The culprit might be radiation".

"All kinds of worlds exist beyond our solar system. Faraway alien planets, called exoplanets, can be gas behemoths like Jupiter, rocky globes about the size of our planet, or even "super-puffs" with the density of cotton candy".

"But there's a mysterious gap where there should be planets about 1.5 to two times the width of Earth". (https://www.sciencealert.com/planets-are-mysteriously-shrinking-and-we-may-finally-know-why)

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"Among over 5,000 exoplanets that NASA has discovered, there are plenty of super-Earths (which are up to 1.6 times as wide as our planet) and plenty of sub-Neptunes (about two to four times Earth's diameter), but there are hardly any planets in between.

"Exoplanet scientists have enough data now to say that this gap is not a fluke. Something is going on that impedes planets from reaching and/or staying at this size," Jessie Christiansen, a research scientist at Caltech and science lead for the NASA Exoplanet Archive, said in a Wednesday press release".


https://www.sciencealert.com/planets-are-mysteriously-shrinking-and-we-may-finally-know-why

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https://www.sciencealert.com/planets-are-mysteriously-shrinking-and-we-may-finally-know-why


https://scitechdaily.com/cosmic-vanishing-acts-nasa-unraveling-the-mystery-of-shrinking-exoplanets/

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