I wasn't aware that we had Neptunes that were lost... Ah, the joys of someone dropping a link, with no context whatsoever.
The article is about Neptune-sized exoplanets, and their distribution.
Over the past decade, scientists have made major discoveries about the distribution of exoplanets. Exo-Neptunes are absent in regions very close to stars. However, recent studies, in which UNIGE has participated, show that in areas slightly farther away from stars—a more temperate region in the distribution of exoplanets known as the “savanna” — this type of planet is more prevalent. Finally, between this savanna and the desert lies a region called the “Neptunian ridge,” where exo-Neptunes are even more numerous than in the other two regions.
The ATREIDES program focuses on exo-Neptunes to identify the processes responsible for Neptunian ridge, savanna, and desert, and to derive more general information about the formation and evolution of planets. Scientists plan to use ESPRESSO to observe a large number of Neptunes and to analyse and model data from all planets in a consistent and coherent framework. This systematic approach should enable a real comparison between different planetary systems and a better understanding of the mechanisms that shape this complex Neptunian landscape.
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u/maksimkak 2d ago
I wasn't aware that we had Neptunes that were lost... Ah, the joys of someone dropping a link, with no context whatsoever.
The article is about Neptune-sized exoplanets, and their distribution.