Astronomers Find 'Homeless' Planet Drifting Through Space
Astronomers
have discovered a planet drifting through space, not orbiting a star. Such
cosmic wanderers are believed to be common in the universe. But the new-found
planet's proximity to our solar system - just 100 light years, or 1000 trillion
kilometers, away - and the absence of any nearby stars have allowed the
international [Canadian and European] team to study the planet's properties in
greater detail than ever before.
Because
it seems to be travelling with a group of about 30 young stars, researchers
were able to determine it was the same age - between 50 and 120 million years old.
Then, using computer models of planet evolution, they report it has a
temperature of about 400 degrees Celsius, and a mass four to seven times that
of Jupiter.
These
free-floating objects can help astronomers understand more about how planets
and stars form and behave. Rogue planets may have coalesced from the same dust
and debris as normal planets before being ejected from their solar systems, or
they may be brown dwarfs - stars that never grew large enough to trigger the
reaction that causes starlight.
Lead
researcher, Philippe Delorme of the University of Grenoble, said "If this
little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it
conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of
space."
No comments:
Post a Comment