US EditionRogue Planet Spotted Devouring 6 Billion Tons Every Second
The rogue planet Cha 1107-7626 grows at six billion tons per second, driven by magnetic activity previously observed only in stars, marking the fastest planetary growth recorded.
- On October 3, 2025, an international team of astronomers reported Cha 1107-7626 is consuming gas and dust at six billion tonnes per second in constellation Chamaeleon.
- Driven by its magnetic field, Cha 1107-7626 is fed by an accretion disc, with magnetic activity likely driving the planet's intense growth.
- Using ESO's VLT and NASA's JWST, astronomers detected infrared emissions and spectral signatures of gas crashing onto the planet, with water vapour forming in the disc during the accretion burst.
- This event is the first EXor-type burst confirmed in a planetary-mass object, blurring the line between stars and planets and urging astronomers and researchers to rethink classification.
- By August 2025, the team found Cha 1107-7626's accretion surged eightfold, peaking at six billion tonnes per second; ESO's Extremely Large Telescope will aid future discoveries and origin studies.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Rogue Planet Found Having Massive "Growth Spurt"
New observations made with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) identified an enormous a rogue planet with the strongest growth rate ever recorded. These observations reveal that this free-floating planet is eating up gas and dust from its surroundings at a rate of six billion tonnes a second.
Rogue planet's record growth spurt of 6 billion tonnes per second
Artist’s impression of the rogue planet Cha 1107-7626. Researchers suspect that strong magnetic fields could be funnelling material towards the planet, something only seen in stars. Credit: ESO Astronomers have witnessed a planet 620 light-years away eat up nearby gas and dust at a rate of 6 billion tonnes a second, the fastest growth rate ever recorded for a rogue planet. The planet, Cha 1107-7626, has a mass 5 to 10 times that of Jupiter. Thes…
In the depths of the universe, about 620 light years from Earth, astronomers have just witnessed an extraordinary phenomenon: a solitary planet that floats free through space and grows at an accelerated pace. The object, called Cha 1107-7626, does not orbit any star, which makes it a rebellious planet or rogue planet, that is, a celestial body that is found without gravitational bindings in the cosmos. The curious thing is that this world is in …
Rogue planet spotted devouring 6 billion tons every second
Astronomers have uncovered a runaway feeding frenzy in a rogue planet drifting freely through space, devouring six billion tonnes of gas and dust every second. Located 620 light-years away in the Chamaeleon constellation, the object, Cha 1107-7626, is growing at the fastest rate ever seen in any planet. The dramatic surge in mass revealed evidence of strong magnetic fields and changing chemistry, including water vapor, previously only observed i…
According to research conducted by St. Andrews University in Scotland, this astronomical object consumes gas and dust at a record rate of 6 billion tons per second, representing the highest rate of accumulation detected so far on a planet. The wandering planets do not orbit stars. They float freely through space. This isolated condition allows scientists to study their formation without interference, which gives this observation a special value.
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