page_title: Hypothetical astronomical object
hierarchical_section_title: Hypothetical astronomical object
caption_attribution_description: English: This artist's conception illustrates a Jupiter-like planet alone in the dark of space, floating freely without a parent star. Astronomers recently uncovered evidence for 10 such lone worlds, thought to have been "booted," or ejected, from developing solar systems. The planet survey, called the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA), scanned the central bulge of our Milky Way galaxy from 2006 to 2007. It used a 5.9-foot (1.8-meter) telescope at Mount John University Observatory in New Zealand, and a technique called gravitational microlensing. In this method, a planet-sized body is identified indirectly as it just happens to pass in front of a more distant star, causing the star to brighten. The effect is like a cosmic funhouse mirror, or magnifying lens light from the background star is warped and amplified, becoming brighter. Based on these results, astronomers estimate that free-floating worlds are more common than stars in our Milky Way galaxy, and perhaps other galaxies too.
context_page_description: A hypothetical astronomical object is an astronomical object that is believed or speculated to exist or to have existed but whose existence has not been scientifically proven. Such objects have been hypothesized throughout recorded history. For example, in the 5th century BCE, the philosopher Philolaus defined a hypothetical astronomical object which he called the "Central Fire", around which he proposed other celestial bodies moved.
context_section_description: A hypothetical astronomical object is an astronomical object (such as a star, planet or moon) that is believed or speculated to exist or to have existed but whose existence has not been scientifically proven. Such objects have been hypothesized throughout recorded history. For example, in the 5th century BCE, the philosopher Philolaus defined a hypothetical astronomical object which he called the "Central Fire", around which he proposed other celestial bodies (including the Sun) moved.
caption: Artist's conception of a Jupiter-size rogue planet.
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