July 11, 2019
Rogue planets, free-floating and not orbiting any star, are identified by astrophysicists using a new technique with data from the OGLE and KMTNet surveys, expanding the understanding of planetary formation.
Warsaw, Poland | OGLE and KMTNet
On July 11, 2019, astrophysicists announced the identification of rogue planets, which are free-floating celestial bodies that do not orbit any star. This discovery was made possible through a new technique utilizing data from two major astronomical surveys: the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) and the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet).
OGLE: Conducted by the University of Warsaw, this survey is an extensive observational program using the 1.3-meter Warsaw Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. OGLE focuses on detecting dark and otherwise invisible matter using gravitational microlensing, a method that measures the bending of light from distant stars by the gravitational field of a closer object, like a planet.
KMTNet: Operated by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, KMTNet uses three identical wide-field telescopes located in Chile, Australia, and South Africa. Its primary goal is to monitor the dense star fields in the Milky Way for microlensing events.
Microlensing Events: The new identification method relies on microlensing, where the gravity of an unseen planet bends and magnifies the light of a background star. This results in a temporary increase in brightness detected by the telescopes.
Detection of Rogue Planets: By analyzing data from billions of stars in the Milky Way collected by OGLE and KMTNet, scientists successfully identified signals indicating the presence of rogue planets. These signals were characterized by very short-duration microlensing events, often only a few hours long, suggesting the presence of planets with no host stars.
Understanding Planetary Formation: The detection of rogue planets challenges conventional theories of planetary formation, suggesting that some planets might be ejected from their star systems during their formative years.
Cosmic Loners: These free-floating planets, sometimes referred to as “cosmic orphans,” add a new dimension to the study of celestial bodies, showing that planet formation might be a more ubiquitous and varied process than previously thought.
Future Research: This discovery opens the door for more targeted searches and studies of rogue planets. Future missions and telescopes could be optimized to further explore these objects and their environments.
The groundbreaking use of microlensing through OGLE and KMTNet data on July 11, 2019, marks a significant advancement in the field of astrophysics, expanding our understanding of planetary systems beyond the traditional star-centric models.
Source: www.science.org