This example demonstrates a microlensing event in exposing a rogue planet.
John Scowern / Astronomical Observatory, University of Versailles
Most planets play according to the rules. They orbit a star. They are predictable. Stable. The kind of planet you bring home for your parents. But some planets are independent thinkers, and a team led by astronomers at the University of Warsaw has found a particularly wild one that made its way into our Milky Way galaxy. Is.
The Exoplanet (a planet outside our solar system) does not appear to be bound in a regular bit orbit around a star, making it a very rare find.
The The researchers announced the discovery “The smallest Earth-sized free-floating planet ever” published in a statement last week. Paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters. We have seen Before the evidence of rogue planets, But none
The size, characteristics and path of the exoplanet mean that it could not be detected by our planet spotting tricks. Instead, researchers used force Gravitational microlensing, A technique inspired by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Astronomers can use the gravity of celestial objects, such as stellar mirrors, and allow us to see inside and out of space.
A. NASA video Explains the concept as it applies to rogue planets.
The University of Warsaw’s OGLE Looking into space in search of microlensing programs among millions of stars. In this case, the rogue planet passed in front of a star, with a brief twist and focus, which triggered a bright light from a star seen through a telescope on Earth.
“The cause of microlensing events Free-floating planet “The university said it was only a matter of hours.” By measuring the duration of a microlensing event (and the shape of its light curve) we can estimate the mass of the lensing object. “The team observed Earth-sized rogue planets. Through a microlensing program (formally called OGLE-2016-BLG-1928) that lasted only 42 minutes.
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This planet became like any other, but was later pushed out of its solar system by interacting with other planets or space objects. Was given. Disease planets like this can give an understanding of the early days of our own system.
Astronomers would love to know how common small rogue planets can be. This could be the tip of the iceberg. We must learn a lot again NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Goes into service in mid-2020. Until then, we can celebrate the discovery of an astronaut’s constant free spirit that is reminiscent of Earth (slightly).
