Astronomers using the Webb Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope have discovered an unusual wandering planet in the Milky Way. It is a gas giant with a mass 5-10 times that of Jupiter and is not gravitationally bound to any star, Live Science reports.
Such planets are already known to science, but the object, called Cha 1107-7626, has amazed scientists with its unique behavior – it is extremely rapidly absorbing gas and dust, gaining mass at a rate of about 6 billion tons per second. This process resembles star formation, and scientists are currently unable to explain its nature.
A new giant wandering planet was discovered at a distance of about 620 light-years from Earth. Cha 1107-7626 currently has the highest growth rate among known objects of this type. Studies have shown that the planet accumulates matter unevenly – its growth occurs in jerks, similar to that observed in young stars.
According to astronomers, such wandering worlds may have much in common with star formation. However, since they are much smaller than stars, it remains unclear at what point their evolutionary paths diverge. The discovery could help to better understand the difference between massive planets and small stars.
Scientists are also trying to figure out whether such objects are former planets ejected from their star systems, or whether they formed as a result of the gravitational compression of molecular clouds – in the same way that stars are born.
It is currently known that the uneven and intense absorption of gas and dust is an important stage in the process of star formation and affects the environment where new planets later arise. Detecting the same process in an object of planetary mass could be the key to understanding the universal mechanisms that control the extremely rapid accumulation of matter.
The results of the study suggest that some wandering planets may develop according to principles similar to those of stars. Astronomers plan to study more such objects to answer the main question – whether they form as stars or as planets.
