Rogue worlds discovered in early signs of new miniature solar system

Experts have discovered six brand new celestial objects which defy conventional definitions, and could be indicators of new miniature solar systems developing.

The objects, or ‘rogue worlds’, look like planets but actually formed as stars do.

Perhaps most intriguingly, one of these rogue worlds appears to show signs of hosting the beginnings of a new miniature solar system.

These fascinating objects were discovered by Ray Jayawardhana at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and his colleagues.

They used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect them in the GC 1333 star cluster. Research was accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal and can be seen here.

These objects are referred to as brown dwarfs, given that they form like stars – probably from clouds of dust and gas collapsing – but don’t end up being big enough to operate as stars.

Study lead author Adam Langeveld is an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University. He released a statement saying: "We are probing the very limits of the star forming process. If you have an object that looks like a young Jupiter, is it possible that it could have become a star under the right conditions? This is important context for understanding both star and planet formation."

Jayawardhana said: “In some ways, what’s most striking is what we didn’t find. We didn’t find anything below five Jupiter masses, despite the fact that we had the sensitivity to do so.”

The James Webb Space Telescope is, as ever, right at the forefront of discovery in outer space. Recently, it was used to find “impossible” monster galaxies in the early universe that have previously left the cosmology world – however, astronomers now believe they have an answer.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the Indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the Indy100 rankings