Hot Enough to Vaporize Rock (IMAGE) Washington University in St. Louis Caption Washington University in St. Louis cosmochemists show that hot, rocky exoplanets with steam atmospheres may vaporize some of their rocky elements and then lose them to space, changing the bulk composition of the planet. Credit NASA Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.