Astronomers have recently discovered a group of 70 lonely planets in the Milky Way that lack a central star.
Simulation of a group of lonely planets.
This is not the first time that astronomers worldwide have found such planets, but experts believe this is a rare phenomenon due to their large quantity.
The new discovery also marks an important step in the effort to understand the origins of objects commonly referred to as “the mysterious nomads of the galaxy.”
Most exoplanets are discovered through the observation of their central stars. Therefore, finding lonely planets is not a simple task. However, thanks to data collected over more than 20 years of research, experts have identified at least 70 Jupiter-sized planets.
Astronomers first discovered lonely planets in the 1990s. The discovery of additional planets helps researchers understand their origins. Some hypotheses suggest that they formed from the collapse of a gas cloud or were ejected from their original star systems.
