
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Rogue planets — worlds that drift through space alone without a star — largely remain a mystery to scientists. Now, astronomers have for the first time confirmed the existence of one of these starless worlds by pinpointing its distance and mass — a rogue planet roughly the size of Saturn nearly 10,000 light-years from Earth.
Planets are typically found bound to one or more stars. However, in 2000, astronomers detected the first signs of a "rogue planet" — a free-floating world that orbited no star. Then, in 2024, researchers detected an object distorting the light from a distant star, simultaneously from both Earth and space using several ground-based observatories as well as the European Space Agency's now-retired Gaia space telescope. These observations helped scientists estimate that the object was a newfound world found about 9,950 light-years from Earth in the direction of the Milky Way's center, with a mass about 70 times larger than Earth. (Saturn, on the other hand, is about 95 Earth masses.)
The researchers behind the discovery say these types of free-floating planets should be even more abundant throughout our home galaxy than we realize. "Theoretical studies of formation of planetary systems suggest that they should be very numerous in the Milky Way, even a few times more numerous than the number of stars in the galaxy," study co-author Andrzej Udalski, an astrophysicist at the University of Warsaw in Poland, told Space.com.
More data on rogue planets could help shed light on how all planets form, and how and which kinds go rogue. Previous research suggests that chaotic interactions between worlds early in the development of planetary systems around stars can sling planets outward. Passing stars may also disrupt planetary systems, hurling worlds into the void. In addition, some rogue planets may form directly by themselves from the same clouds of gas and dust that birth stars.
Rogue planets are difficult to spot because they do not emit enough light for the current generation of telescopes to detect. Right now, the only way to discover these wandering worlds is with the help of gravitational fields, which warp the fabric of spacetime.
When a rogue planet drifts in front of a star, the world's gravitational field can act like a lens, amplifying the star's apparent brightness and letting astronomers infer the rogue planet's existence. Up to now, researchers detected about a dozen potential rogue planets with this method.
One limitation of using such "gravitational microlensing" to detect rogue planets is that it cannot by itself reveal how far away these worlds are. This in turn makes it difficult to deduce other features of those planets, such as their masses. As such, much about rogue planets remained a matter of speculation — astronomers could not even conclusively confirm they were actually planets and not more massive bodies, such as the failed stars known as brown dwarfs.
Now, astronomers have not only detected a rogue planet, but also pinpointed its distance and its mass. By viewing this event, known as both KMT-2024-BLG-0792 and OGLE-2024-BLG-0516, from two different vantage points, the scientists could essentially triangulate its distance from Earth. Once they had a better idea of its distance from Earth, they could then estimate its mass, based on how long its gravitational field distorted the light the astronomers saw.
"Our discovery offers further evidence that the galaxy may be teeming with rogue planets," study co-author Subo Dong, a professor of astronomy at Peking University in China, said in a statement.
The next generation of space telescopes may detect even more rogue planets. For instance, NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which may launch in 2026, will scan huge swaths of the sky in infrared light 1,000 times faster than NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. China's Earth 2.0 satellite, planned for launch in 2028, will also search for free-floating planets.
"The future of free-floating planet science looks very bright," Udalski said.
The scientists detailed their findings online Jan. 1 in the journal Science.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
This St Nick Truly Can Advise How To Drink And Hack Your Headache - 2
A definitive Manual for the 5 Off-road Bicycles Available - 3
Family Matters: Tips and Guidance for Effective Nurturing and Everyday Life - 4
8 Fundamental Stages: Novice's Manual for Secure Your Android with a VPN - 5
Step by step instructions to Protect Your Senior Condo for Ideal Wellbeing and Solace
Step into Nature: A Survey of \Handling Trails with Solace\ Climbing Shoes
NASA probe captures stunning photos of Earth and moon on the way to infamous asteroid Apophis
Italy now recognizes the crime of femicide and punishes it with life in prison
Turkey's Erdogan denounces Israel-Greece-Cyprus trilateral summit, affirms support for Gaza
Banks for High Fixed Store Rates: Amplify Your Reserve funds
The Best 15 Applications for Efficiency and Association
4 Famous Attractions at Disneyland
The most effective method to Remain Ahead in the Most recent Advanced Patterns with a Web based Advertising Degree
Benin coup thwarted by loyalist troops, president tells nation













