Rogue Planet Discovered, Which Travels Alone

A 200 million-year-old, planet-like object, with the mass of a planet has been discovered outside our solar system, which is 20 light years away from the Earth. The researchers now call it Rogue because it produces glowing aurora and walks through space alone without any parent star.  

Now for further study, it has been named as SIMP J01365663+0933473 and the object has 12.7 times more mass than the giant planet Jupiter, which is also the largest planet of the entire solar system. The rogue planet also has a strong magnetic field that is said to be 200 times stronger than the planet Jupiter. 

The surface temperature of the planet is more than 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. But it is not as hot as compared to the sun's surface temperature, which is 9,932 degrees Fahrenheit.

A study published recently in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series has elaborately described the detection of the object and why the planet is called Rogue. The planet is the first radio telescope detection, as astronomers found the object using the National Science Foundation's Large Array radio astronomy observatory in New Mexico. The planet is a surprise also because of its peculiarity, some believe that it could be a planet or a brown dwarf.

Brown dwarfs are considered to be too massive in comparisons to other planets. The first brown dwarf was discovered in 1995, although the presence of brown dwarf has been theoretically observed since the 1960’s. The author of the study Melodie Kao, in a statement, said, “This object is right at the boundary between a planet and a brown dwarf, or 'failed star,' and is giving us some surprises that can potentially help us understand magnetic processes on both stars and planets”.

While, co-author of the study and assistant Professor of Astronomy at California Institute of Astronomy, Gregg Hallinan said in a statement, “[This presents] huge challenges to our understanding of the dynamo mechanism that produces the magnetic fields in brown dwarfs and exoplanets and helps drive the auroras we see. Detecting SIMP J01365663+0933473 with the VLA through its auroral radio emission also means that we may have a new way of detecting exoplanets, including the elusive rogue ones not orbiting a parent star”.

According to earlier studies a brown dwarf can produce auroras too, but the cause behind all these surprises is still not clear because they don't have solar wind from nearby stars. Another theory says that the auroras can occur when a planet or moon interacts through the magnetic field of the brown dwarf.