Astronomers have found that giant free floating #planets, sometimes called rogue planets or substellar objects, have the potential to form their own miniature planetary systems without the need for a #star.
Free floating planets are challenging to observe, as they are very dim and radiate mostly in the infrared. And yet, they hold the key to important questions in astrophysics.
Current research suggests that these are the lowest mass objects formed like stars from the collapse of giant gas clouds.
The new work characterizes these objects in depth, and confirms that they have masses around the same size as Jupiter.
Some of them also have excess emissions in the infrared caused by warm dust in their immediate vicinity. This is the characteristic sign of disks, flattened structures which are the birthplaces of planets.
Observations also show emission from silicate grains in the disks, with clear signs of dust growth and crystallization—the typical first steps in the formation of rocky planets.
#exoplanets #astronomy
https://phys.org/news/2025-08-giant-free-planets-planetary.html