Having Lost Its Original Atmosphere, This Freaky Planet Is Now Growing a New One Image: NASA/ESA/R. Hurt (IPAC/Caltech) Who says you can’t lose your atmosphere to a nearby red dwarf and then grow a new one with the help of volcanic activity? This resilient planet, located 41 light-years from Earth, appears to be thriving again after a rough encounter with its host star. Advertisement Exoplanet GJ 1132 b is both similar to and very different from Earth. Sure, it’s several times wider than our planet, but both worlds share similar densities and atmospheric pressures, and both popped into existence approximately 4.5 billion years ago. And like our planet, it started off hot, with an atmosphere rich in hydrogen, and then gradually cooled down.