Chthonian planet rocky planet and not the eroded core of a gas or ice giant, due to the young age of the star system. Kepler-70b and Kepler-70c are sub-Earth planets that are thought to have been giant planets that were engulfed by the extended envelope of their star in its red giant phase vaporizing their gaseous envelope. Chthonian planet Chthonian planets (, sometimes 'cthonian') are a hypothetical class of celestial objects resulting from the stripping away of a gas giant's hydrogen and helium atmosphere and outer layers, which is called hydrodynamic escape. Such atmospheric stripping is a likely result of proximity to
Giant star This causes the outer layers to expand even further and generates a strong convective zone that brings heavy elements to the surface in a process called the first dredge-up. This strong convection also increases the transport of energy to the surface, the luminosity increases dramatically, and the star moves onto the red-giant branch where it will stably burn hydrogen in a shell for a substantial fraction of its entire life (roughly 10% for a Sun-like star). The core continues to gain mass, contract, and increase in temperature, whereas there is some mass loss in the outer layers. If the star's