"Homeless" planet spotted in deep space
Posted: Thu, Nov 15, 2012, 7:52 AM ET (1252 GMT)
Astronomers announced Wednesday the discovery of a "homeless" planet 100 light-years away not orbiting any star. Astronomers detected the object, designated CFBDSIR2149, using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, with followup observations made by ESO's Very Large Telescope. The object four to seven times as massive as Jupiter and is part of a group of young stars called the AB Doradus Moving Group, but is not orbiting any of those stars. The world is thought to be either a planet that was ejected from one of the stars during the process of forming a solar system, or a body that formed independently of any stars. Astronomers believe such free-floating planets may be as common as normal stars.
Astronomers announced Wednesday the discovery of a "homeless" planet 100 light-years away not orbiting any star. Astronomers detected the object, designated CFBDSIR2149, using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, with followup observations made by ESO's Very Large Telescope. The object four to seven times as massive as Jupiter and is part of a group of young stars called the AB Doradus Moving Group, but is not orbiting any of those stars. The world is thought to be either a planet that was ejected from one of the stars during the process of forming a solar system, or a body that formed independently of any stars. Astronomers believe such free-floating planets may be as common as normal stars.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, September 22
Rocket Lab to launch ‘sustainable space’ demonstration satellite
Long Beach (CA) Business Journal — 6:01 am ET (1001 GMT) Second pad work resumes, space junk clean up announced
Gisbourne (NZ) Herald — 6:01 am ET (1001 GMT) US Space Force unveils new uniform prototypes
CNN — 6:00 am ET (1000 GMT) People Think There’s Something Very Familiar About The New Space Force Uniforms
The Huffington Post — 5:59 am ET (0959 GMT) You can buy your way into space on a billionaire's ship. Did you 'earn' the same pin as astronauts?
Houston Chronicle — 5:56 am ET (0956 GMT) |
