What happens to a planet when the star in their solar system dies? Or when a planet gets knocked out of orbit due to another? What happens to planets that form in the universe outside of a star? These planets roam the universe with no solar system to call home, they are classified as Rogue Planets.
Most people may think planets only exist in a solar system, this is due to our current knowledge of planets and where we have looked for planets outside of our solar system. We live on a planet that orbits a star so it makes sense to observe other stars to see if other solar systems exist there too. This way of thinking changed when the Kepler spacecraft mission discovered the planet CFBDSIR2149. This is the closest rogue planet to our solar system at a distance of 100 light years. It is believed to be 50 to 120 million years old with a mass 4-7 times that of Jupiter. This discovery will help scientists better understand how rogue planets are formed and how they travel throughout space.
“These objects are important, as they can either help us understand more about how planets may be ejected from planetary systems, or how very light objects can arise from the star formation process."
"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.” - Philippe Delorme.
Sources: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1245/#6 | Images: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/pia14093.html | http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1245c/
