Lost in Space -- Giant Orphan Planet Hurtles Through Space Without a Parent Star

12/08/2012 03:05AM

Lost in Space -- Giant Orphan Planet Hurtles Through Space Without a Parent Star

Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope have identified a body that is very probably a planet wandering through space without a parent star. This is the most exciting free-floating planet candidate so far and the closest such object to the Solar System at a distance of about 100 light-years. Its comparative proximity and the absence of a bright star very close to it, has allowed researchers to study its atmosphere in great detail.


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