Lonely ‘homeless’ planet found for the first time.

Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:33 pm » by **WillEase666**

The lonely planet, called CFBDSIR2149 at the moment does not orbit a star. It is the first isolated planet of its kind ever to be discovered by scientists. Photo: European Southern Observatory

Astronomers for the first time have discovered a young “homeless planet”, up to seven times the size of Jupiter (sound familiar?) and with no gravitational ties.

The lonely planet, called CFBDSIR2149 at the moment does not orbit a star. It is the first isolated planet of its kind ever to be discovered by scientists, after more than a decade of searching in a process described as looking for a single needle in amongst thousands of haystacks.

“Although theorists had established the existence of this type of very cold and young planet, one had never been observed until today,” said ienne Artigau, an astrophysicist at University of Montreal (UdeM).

The absence of a shining star in the vicinity of this planet enabled the team to study its atmosphere in great detail. This information will in turn enable astronomers to better understand exoplanets that do orbit stars.

Free-floating planets are planetary-mass objects that have no gravitational link to a star.

“Over the past few years, several objects of this type have been identified, but their existence could not be established without scientific confirmation of their age,” said Jonathan Gagne, a doctoral student of physics at UdeM.

“Astronomers weren’t sure whether to categorise them as planets or as Brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs are what we could call failed stars, as they never manage to initiate nuclear reactions in their centres,” Gagne said in a statement

Researchers were able to find this planet with the assistance of French astronomers.

The planet is in fact called CFBDSIR2149 and appears to be part of a group of very young stars known as the AB Doradus Moving Group.

“This group is unique in that it is made up of around thirty stars that all have the same age, have the same composition and that move together through space. It’s the link between the planet and AB Doradus that enabled us to deduce its age and classify it as a planet,” researcher Lison Malo explained.

Researchers obtained a series of infrared images of CFBDSIR2149 using the 3.6 metres in diameter CFHT. They then used the full strength of the 8 metres in diameter VLT to deduce its mass, its temperature, and of particular note, its age.

The planet was found to be between 50 and 120 millions years old, with a temperature of approximately 400 degrees Celsius, and a mass four to seven times that of Jupiter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/spac ... -time.html

Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:55 pm » by **One-23**

Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile worked with the Canada-France-Hawaii (CFH) Telescope in Hawaii to capture the image of the free-floating planet, which is around 100 light years away

Nibiru ? - a bit sensationalist for you Will :headscratch:

Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:02 pm » by **WillEase666**

Cageyone23 wrote:
Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile worked with the Canada-France-Hawaii (CFH) Telescope in Hawaii to capture the image of the free-floating planet, which is around 100 light years away

Nibiru ? - a bit sensationalist for you Will

My point was that this proves 'Nibiru' may exist and simply hasn't been discovered yet.

Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:05 pm » by **Kanaeta**

Astronomers have spotted a "rogue planet" - wandering the cosmos without a star to orbit - 100 light-years away.

Recent finds of such planets have suggested that they may be common, but candidates have eluded close study.

The proximity of the new rogue planet has allowed astronomers to guess its age: a comparatively young 50-120 million years old.

The planet, dubbed CFBDSIR2149-0403, is outlined in a paper posted online to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Rogue planets are believed to form in one of two ways: in much the same way as planets bound to stars, coalescing from a disk of dust and debris but then thrown out of a host star's orbit, or in much the same way as stars but never reaching a full star's mass.

One tricky part is determining if rogue planet candidates are as massive as the "failed stars" known as brown dwarfs, further along in stellar evolution but without enough mass to spark the nuclear fusion that causes starlight.

Either way, the objects end up free of a host star's gravity. Given that most planets we know of are found through the effects they have on their host star's light, pinning down rogue planets has proven difficult.

An international team went on a vast hunt for the planets using the Canada France Hawaii Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile and came up with just one candidate.

VLT studies allowed first guesses as to the planet's composition, as seen in this artist's impression
"This object was discovered during a scan that covered the equivalent of 1,000 times the [area] of the full moon," said study co-author Etienne Artigau of the University of Montreal.

"We observed hundreds of millions of stars and planets, but we only found one homeless planet in our neighbourhood."

But crucially, the new find appears to be moving along with a similarly itinerant group of celestial objects, called the "AB Doradus moving group" - a collection of about 30 stars which are of roughly the same composition and are believed to have formed at about the same time.

Because CFBDSIR2149-0403 appears to be moving with the group - to a certainty of 87% - astronomers believe it too formed with the stars, about 50 -120 million years ago.

It is this estimate of age that allows astronomers to use computer models of planet evolution to make further guesses as to the planet's mass and temperature.

The team believe it has a temperature of about 400C and a mass between four and seven times that of Jupiter - well short of the mass limit that would make it a likely brown dwarf.

What remains unclear is just how the planet came to be - the tiny beginnings of a star, or planet launched from its home? Study co-author Philippe Delorme of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble, said that the latter implied a great many planets like it.

"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20309762

Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:43 pm » by **Vulcanic**

great story will :flop:

Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:59 am » by **DmoniX_The_Destroyer**

It's not Nibiru!!! Nor will Nibiru be smashing into Earth nor any other planet in our Solar System!!

How do I know this? A little gray bird with big almond shaped eyes told me :alien:

Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:37 am » by **Evildweeb**

Rogue Planet Has No Parent Star

Upload to Disclose.tv

on Nov 14, 2012 by VideoFromSpace

Astronomers have discovered a "rogue planet" (no, NOT Nibiru!) that seems to be travelling with a set of young stars -- called the AB Doradus Moving Group -- but isn't orbiting any of them. If it's part of that family, scientists can gauge.

Credit: ESO / CFHT & SPACE.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoI78o_dvRA

Good find Will :flop:

Sat Nov 17, 2012 3:32 am » by **WillEase666**

DmoniX_The_Destroyer wrote:It's not Nibiru!!! Nor will Nibiru be smashing into Earth nor any other planet in our Solar System!!

How do I know this? A little gray bird with big almond shaped eyes told me

You're missing the point. Because this rouge planet exists then it's plausible Nibiru does as well.

Sat Nov 17, 2012 6:57 am » by **Kerrblur2**

no nibiru is not a rogue planet homie. if its real it would be a rotation that does not follow our current solar system axis. therefore it has a rotation that is off the sun's axis.... it is not a rogue planet..... if it were real

Sat Nov 17, 2012 8:02 am » by **WillEase666**

Kerrblur2 wrote:no nibiru is not a rogue planet homie. if its real it would be a rotation that does not follow our current solar system axis. therefore it has a rotation that is off the sun's axis.... it is not a rogue planet..... if it were real

You don't know your ass from a hole in the ground. There are no experts to say what Nibiru is or is not...much less whether it exists at all. The point is this planet or dwarf star does exist therefore Nibiru may as well. Put the crack pipe down.