US EditionAstronomers spot young rogue planet gobbling up its surroundings
Cha 1107-7626 is growing at the fastest rate ever recorded for a planet, accreting six billion tons of gas per second driven by magnetic activity, astronomers said.
- On October 3, 2025, astronomers using ESO's VLT found Cha1107-7626, a rogue planet in Chamaeleon, consuming gas and dust at six billion tonnes per second—the fastest rate recorded.
- Scientists debate whether rogue planets form like stars or are ejected, as their origin remains unresolved between star-like formation and ejection-from-birth-system hypotheses.
- Using the X-shooter spectrograph on ESO's VLT, astronomers detected a brightening and by August 2025 the planet's accretion surged about eight times, revealing water vapour and magnetic activity.
- The result blurs the star–planet boundary by showing star-like accretion behaviour in a planetary-mass object, providing rare clues about planetary evolution and formation theories, study co-author Belinda Damian said.
- For the first time, astronomers observed the first accretion burst in a planet-mass object, while ESO's Extremely Large Telescope and JWST will enable future surveys to detect many free-floating planets.
42 Articles
42 Articles
Astronomers spot young rogue planet gobbling up its surroundings - West Hawaii Today
Just as Earth orbits the sun, most planets discovered beyond our solar system orbit a host star. But some are out there all by themselves, called rogue planets. While their origins are poorly understood, astronomers have now spotted a voracious one in its infancy that offers new insight into these lonely worlds. Researchers said this rogue planet, named Cha 1107-7626, is about five to 10 times more massive than Jupiter, our solar system’s larges…
The Independent
Western Morning NewsExperts discover huge rogue planet growing at fastest rate ever detected
Free-floating planet is consuming gas and dust at a rate of six billion tonnes a second
Young rogue planet displays record-breaking ‘growth spurt’
A young rogue planet about 620 light-years away from Earth has experienced a record-breaking “growth spurt,” hoovering up some six billion tons of gas and dust each second over a couple of months. A team of international researchers have explored changes in the planet’s growth and immediate surroundings. The observations provide insight into how rogue planets—free-floating planetary-mass objects that do not orbit sta…
Astronomers spot young rogue planet gobbling up its surroundings
Just as Earth orbits the sun, most planets discovered beyond our solar system orbit a host star. But some are out there all by themselves, called rogue planets. While their origins are poorly understood, astronomers have now spotted a voracious one in its infancy that offers new insight into these lonely worlds.
Lonely Rogue Planet Cha 1107-7626 Unveils Galactic Mysteries | Science-Environment
Lonely Rogue Planet Cha 1107-7626 Unveils Galactic Mysteries In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have observed a rogue planet, Cha 1107-7626, illustrating an intense phase of growth previously unseen in such celestial bodies. This rogue planet is located about 620 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way's Chamaeleon constellation.Cha 1107-7626, approximately five to 10 times the mass of Jupiter, was caught in the act of gobbling up surrou…
Astronomers have discovered a planet that is currently growing at a rapid pace. Observations raise new questions about the emergence of such "scratch planets".
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 52% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
