Artist impression of Gliese 436b
This artist's concept shows the enormous comet-like cloud of hydrogen bleeding off of the warm, Neptune-sized planet Gliese 436b just 30 light-years from Earth. Also depicted is the parent star, which is a faint red dwarf named Gliese 436. The hydrogen is evaporating from the planet due to extreme radiation from the star. A phenomenon this large has never before been seen around any exoplanet.
Credit:NASA, ESA, STScI, and G. Bacon
About the Image
Id: | heic1515a |
Type: | Artwork |
Release date: | 24 June 2015, 19:00 |
Related releases: | heic1515 |
Size: | 3600 x 2000 px |
About the Object
Name: | Gliese 436b |
Type: | Milky Way : Planet |
Distance: | 30 light years |
Category: | Exoplanets |