Scientists from NASA and Osaka University propose that there is a significant prevalence of rogue planets, those that traverse space without being bound to any star, as compared to planets revolving around stars. The imminent launch of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to uncover hundreds of these nomadic planets, providing invaluable insights into the formation of planets.
A recent study led by researchers from NASA and Osaka University in Japan suggests a greater abundance of these untethered or ‘rogue’ planets as opposed to star-orbiting ones. The results infer that the soon-to-be-launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set for take-off by May 2027, could unveil around 400 rogue planets similar in mass to Earth. This groundbreaking study has already identified a potential candidate.
David Bennett, a seasoned research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who also co-authored two papers describing the findings, estimated, “Our galaxy houses about 20 times more rogue planets than stars – trillions of solitary wandering worlds. This is the first quantification of rogue planets in the galaxy that considers planets less massive than Earth.”
The team’s conclusions are derived from a nine-year study, Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA), conducted at the Mount John University Observatory in New Zealand. Microlensing events, resulting from near-perfect alignment of an unrelated background star with an object like a star or planet from our perspective, provide unique clues about the intervening object by creating a brief surge in the brightness of the background star’s light due to the space-time distortion caused by the nearer object.
Takahiro Sumi, a professor at Osaka University and the lead author of the paper estimating our galaxy’s rogue planets, stated, “We can discover low-mass free-floating planets and even primordial black holes only through microlensing. Using gravity to uncover objects we could never envision seeing directly is thrilling.”
An Earth-mass rogue planet, which is the second discovery of its kind, was found during the study. The upcoming issue of The Astronomical Journal will feature a paper describing this finding. A demographic analysis concluding that rogue planets are six times more plentiful than star-orbiting worlds in our galaxy will be published in the same journal.
As our knowledge of celestial bodies has expanded over the last few decades, we’ve discovered more than 5,300 planets beyond our solar system, many of which are large or in close proximity to their host star. In contrast, the research suggests that rogue planets are typically smaller.
According to Sumi, “Earth-sized rogue planets are more common than the massive ones. The disparity in average masses between star-bound and free-floating planets provides a key to unraveling the processes of planetary formation.”
In the process of planetary formation, lighter planets, which aren’t as strongly bound to their star, often end up being cast into space due to gravitational interactions, leading to a solitary existence in the shadows between stars. However, the team stresses that despite sharing similar mass, these newly discovered ‘rogue Earths’ probably don’t possess many characteristics common with Earth.
As microlensing events unveiling solitary planets are incredibly rare, the launch of the Roman Space Telescope by May 2027 will significantly widen the search scope.
Naoki Koshimoto, who led the paper announcing the discovery of a terrestrial-mass rogue world candidate, said, “Roman will be sensitive to even lower-mass rogue planets as it will observe from space. The combination of Roman’s expansive view and sharp vision will enable us to study the objects it finds in more detail than what is achievable with ground-based telescopes.”
Based on past estimates grounded on star-orbiting planets, it was thought that Roman would discover about 50 terrestrial-mass rogue worlds. The recent findings suggest the number could be as high as 400, though confirmation will only be possible once Roman starts surveying the skies.
For improved accuracy in measuring the masses of rogue planets, scientists will integrate Roman’s future data with ground-based observations from facilities such as the PRIME (Prime-focus Infrared Microlensing Experiment) telescope in Sutherland, South Africa. The project will expand on MOA’s work by conducting the first wide-area microlensing survey in near-infrared light.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope with several collaborators, including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a scientific team composed of scientists from various research institutions. Its primary industrial partners include Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Melbourne, Florida; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Rogue Planets Discovery
What is the Roman Space Telescope?
The Roman Space Telescope is a NASA mission scheduled for launch by May 2027. It is designed to explore space and conduct wide-field surveys to study various celestial phenomena.
How does the Roman Space Telescope search for rogue planets?
The telescope utilizes a technique called microlensing to detect rogue planets. Microlensing events occur when an object, such as a rogue planet, passes in front of an unrelated background star, causing a brief increase in the brightness of the star’s light.
What are rogue planets?
Rogue planets are free-floating planets that wander through space without being attached to any star. They do not orbit a host star like traditional planets.
How many rogue planets could the Roman Space Telescope discover?
Based on recent research, the telescope could potentially find around 400 Earth-sized rogue planets, shedding light on their prevalence and planetary formation mechanisms.
When was the research conducted, and what did it find?
The research was conducted by scientists from NASA and Osaka University. It revealed that rogue planets are more abundant than star-orbiting planets, and it identified a candidate Earth-sized rogue planet.
What makes the Roman Space Telescope well-suited for discovering rogue planets?
The telescope’s wide view and sharp vision, along with its ability to observe from space, make it sensitive to even lower-mass rogue planets, increasing the likelihood of discovering more of these elusive celestial wanderers.
More about Rogue Planets Discovery
- NASA’s Roman Space Telescope: NASA Website
- Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) survey: Research Paper
- Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Partners: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech/IPAC, Space Telescope Science Institute, Ball Aerospace, L3Harris Technologies, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging
5 comments
wow nasa’s roman space telescope is gonna find 400 earth-mass rogue planets?! super cool, they be like free-floatin wanderers out there. spac exploration rocksss!!!
this roman space telescope is sooo amazin. it’s like a planet detective in space, huntin’ those rogue planets without stars, all sci-fi style. can’t wait to see wat it discovers!
whoa, rogue planets more than stars? mind blown! roman telescope be showin’ us a whole new side of space. gotta read up on microlensing too. space mysteries unravelin’!
roman space telescope, our ticket to explore the unknowns. gonna peep into space like never before. 400 rogue planets, u sure they ain’t cosmic rebels? lol
rogue planets, so poetic, like cosmic nomads roamin’ free. roman telescope, takin’ us on a spacetime adventure, watchin’ those microlensing events. bring it on, universe!