Do Rogue Planets Exist?

[bdewoody]

Is there any such thing as a rogue planet? Say one that was flung out of orbit by the death throws of dying star. Or would the death of a star be violent enough to vaporize any planets it might have? Would such a planet eventually be captured by a star that it passes near enough to or would it most likely wander through space endlessly? Also since the birth of the universe have there been enough stars that have already died that would make a significant number of rogue planets? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Yes, they likely do exist.<br />Most are thrown out of the systems not by the death throes, but rather by the birth process. In binary (or more) star systems planets, brown dwarves, and even stars can be ejected from the system.<br /><br />In fact such an explantion on a smaller scale is how the Oort cloud of comets around our solar system was formed, as Jupiter attempted to eject those comets. Many wound up in orbits there, but certainly many comets (much smaller than planets) actually escaped the solar system's gravity well.<br /><br />Capture is extremely unlikely by another star (though not impossible) due to the velocities involved when such a planet approaches another star being so high.<br /><br />As for the last question, what do you consider significant?<br />While unlikely, it is possible that an object or two in the outer solar sytem has been captured, but space is veeeeerrrrrryyyyyy big, so even if there are billions of such planets in our galaxy, it would be very rare that any would even approach another star, much less have any effect on the stellar system.<br /><br />MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Most definately IMO.<br /><br />Many planets in their youth may have been subject to close encounters with their larger neighbours, resulting in changes in orbit, thrown into the parent star or chucked out of the system altogether.<br /><br />Perhaps many of our own Solar System's original planets are roaming the dark cold depths of intersteller space!!!.<br /><br />Not only rogue planets, but also rogue asteroids & comets too.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Hi MeteorWayne.<br /><br />I think that SEDNA is maybe a captured object!!!<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

It is possible, but again, the dymanics make it extremely unlikely.<br /><br />Not impossible though <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

"As for the last question, what do you consider significant? <br />While unlikely, it is possible that an object or two in the outer solar sytem has been captured, but space is veeeeerrrrrryyyyyy big, so even if there are billions of such planets in our galaxy, it would be very rare that any would even approach another star, much less have any effect on the stellar system."<br /><br />I was thinking in terms of "dark matter". Or would such objects be detectable and as such not qualify as DM or if it does there just aren't enough to be significant in the mass of the universe equation. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Ah, dark matter. Hmm, well, they would be very difficult to detect, so in that sense could contribute slightly, but the quantity and mass of such objects would be way too small to explain the DM effects that show it's existence. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[nexium]

Even if 90% of the mass of a typical proto solar system is ejected by gravity assist manuvers, this would not be enough to account for the effects of dark matter, but it would be significant. If our galaxy had this many rogue<br />planets, asteroids, comets, and failed stars, we would likely detect one passing closer than Neptune about once per year, on the average. Perhaps fewer than usual have passed close by the past two centuries. Neil

 

[3488]

About 1 GYA, something caused the Jupiter moon Ganymede to temporarily leave its nearly circular orbit into a more elliptical one, restarting limited internal geological activity (see my post in the New Horizons thread).<br /><br />Perhaps a rogue planet passed through the Jovian system?????<br /><br />Just a thought.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

Good question. I never really gave it much thought, but this article from CNN would have ya believe they most definately do. After a quick search though, I couldn't find anything confirming this and one mainstream media article doesn't offer much evidence for them.<br /><br />With that said, I would agree in saying they 'most likely exist' based on the idea behind planetary ejection or by large nebula clouds breaking down. As for being ejected by 'dead' stars, not nearly as likely, if at all. White dwarves should still retain enough mass to maintain its system. Neutron stars and stellar black holes are remnants of supernovae and any planets orbiting the original stars would be incinerated. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

What they are?I never heard of rouge planet.

 

[derekmcd]

A planet (or more precisely, a planet sized object) outside the gravity well of any stars. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[rfoshaug]

In other words, a planet in a galactic orbit of its own. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff9900">----------------------------------</font></p><p><font color="#ff9900">My minds have many opinions</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Not only in the Orion Nebula, also prbably in most, if not all steller nurseries. Would not be surprised if the Pleiades (M45) in Taurus is over run by rogue planets that have either been torn away from their host suns or formed independently & are now leaving the cluster!!!<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[mithridates]

I read an article a few months ago about how a rogue planet about our size would be able to retain water in liquid form due to a somewhat thicker atmosphere (no star nearby to blow it away) containing geological heat from inside the planet. Can't remember where I read that, maybe spaceref.com. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>----- </p><p>http://mithridates.blogspot.com</p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Another likely place would be in globular clusters, where the stars are much closer than they are in our neigborhood. Due to the interactions among the stars it's less likely that stars would be able to produce planets, but if they should, it is more likely they would be ripped from the system. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Good point as usual MeteorWayne. I was aware that Globular Clusters were thought to be devoid of planetary systems, as they were formed when heavier elements were in short supply, so planets being less likely.<br /><br />But seeing how robust the planetary formation process appears to be, I would not rule it out. <br /><br />Taking on board what you have said, then yes, Globular Clusters would be a good place to look.<br /><br />IMO there are more rogue planets than stars!!!! With space being so big & planets relatively small, they will be hard to find!!!<br /><br />Who knows, as the Solar System orbit's the galactic centre, perhaps our planets may be future rogue worlds, in billions of years time, if our solar systems passes close to another star??? Extremely unlikely I know, but not impossible.<br /><br />Cannot remember where I saw it, but a while back, there was an article on Intersteller Asteroids & Comets & how they could be spotted passing through the Solar System (coming out of Hercules like a 'radiant' & travelling towards Columba at high speed). <br /><br />So far I think none have been observed.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[kelvinzero]

I was amazed when I heard they had recently discovered a whole new 'star' only 12 ly away:<br /><br />http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2003/pr-01-03.html<br /><br />even though reading about it.. it is a piddly 45 times the mass of jupiter. Barely worth counting <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> <br /><br />QUOTE:<br />if current predictions are correct, there should be twice as many brown dwarfs as main sequence stars. Consequently, Epsilon Indi B may be the first of perhaps 100 brown dwarfs within this distance, still waiting to be discovered!<br /><br />It certainly makes me wonder what objects we may have missed closer to home. Could there be a whole set of jupiter-sized objects out there, with moons and everything, closer than the nearest star, for example?

 

[qso1]

Do Rogue Planets Exist? We don't know at this time but there is no reason I can see that would preclude the existence of rogue planets although I would bet they are relatively rare. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Brown dwarfs may have planets,say.Would such a planet be rouge planet?Brown dwarf is no star.

 

[qso1]

Hi alokmohan<br /><br />I would consider a rogue planet to be that which has broken away from its host star or body. If its orbiting brown dwarf or full blown star, its still belonging to that host in the general sense.<br /><br />A rogue planet IMO, is one that has somehow completely departed its orbit from the host body. How might that happen? One possibility, another star passing within a few billion miles could sufficiently disrupt the planets orbit so as to cause it to be drug away so to speak, from the host star. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Hi KelvinZero.<br /><br />In response to:<br />"It certainly makes me wonder what objects we may have missed closer to home. Could there be a whole set of jupiter-sized objects out there, with moons and everything, closer than the nearest star, for example? "<br /><br />Yes I would expect there to be a great very many Rogue Planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune, roaming intersteller space, complete with moons & possibly rings. Some of these indeed are likely to be closer than the Alpha Centauri system!!!!<br /><br />The Epsilon Indi B object is most interesting. I had heard of it before, but your article explains it in more detail, thank you for posting it.<br /><br />Epsilon Indi B = 45 Jupiter masses or 14,310 Earth masses. Although on the planetary scale, a true monster, is a real lightweight on the steller scheme of things!!!!!!!!<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Good point alokmohan.<br /><br />This is one category that will have to be thrashed out at some point (seeing the recent Eris, Pluto debate).<br /><br />Possibly, although as you correctly say that a Brown Dwarf is not a 'true star', it could still have Jovian type companions & I think there is no disputing their planetary status, even if the parent 'star' is not really a star.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

A rogue <i>moon</i> would suffice. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

Planets farther out in the solar system might not be "incinerated," but I would expect them to be battered. Also, a black hole might be able to eventually eat its planets. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>