NASA discovered a mysterious wandering planet
More than 5,000 exoplanets have already been identified. Here is one that is not tied to any star or system.
The exoplanet in question would be ten times more massive than Earth.
DR
Not content with broadcasting climate research, NASA is also keeping an eye on space. And among scientists, some specialists have become hunters forexoplanets. That is, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. And which, therefore, are located outside of our solar system. Discovered only since the 1990s, these exoplanets are now listed and their numbers continue to grow.
As of February 1, it was 5,307 for 3,910 planetary systems. At the moment, the observation radius is quite close (or small), since they are all located less than 400 light years from the solar system.
By extrapolation, there should be at least one hundred billion of them in our galaxy. The dizzying size of the universe. While nearly ten thousand potential exoplanets are awaiting confirmation, we’ve just discovered one that’s not quite like the others.
It is a “floating” or rather wandering planet. Since it is not attached to any Sun and does not orbit a star, it is a priori invisible to telescopes. The object was discovered only through careful analysis of 1.3 million light curves. And it took years to prove that it was indeed an exoplanet.
“Microlensing” for planet detection
Unlike classical planets, “floating” planets roam through interstellar space without gravitational attachment to a star. Which may seem absurd. And in any case, it intrigues researchers, since these mysterious objects completely challenge the understanding of planetary systems.
To complicate matters, these exoplanets are cold and nearly impossible to detect. To circumvent this difficulty, we use a method based on technology “microlensing“This consists of observing the deformations of space-time caused by exoplanets, quasars or other interstellar objects.
NASA compares them to the impact a bowling ball creates when it is placed on an object like a trampoline, for example. Specifically, when a planet passes in front of a star, its gravity slightly affects the scattering of the star’s light. Several stellar bodies have been discovered in this way. We even managed to estimate their mass. The altitude of this new exoplanet is quite high, about ten times higher than that of Earth.
To have more accurate information, a telescope should be launched in the coming years. Her name? Nancy Grace is a novel named after the woman who invented the Hubble Space Telescope. It will be equipped with specialized instruments for studying planets using gravitational microlensing.
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