Astronomers have just confirmed one of the strangest kinds of worlds imaginable, a planet drifting through the galaxy with no star of its own roughly 10,000 light-years from Earth. Instead of circling ...

Scientists now have direct evidence that a planet — not just failed stars — can rove the galaxy after a violent expulsion from its orbit. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt illustration Astronomers ...

Most planets spend their lives orbiting a star, but some are destined for exile. According to a study published in Science on Jan. 1, 2026, astronomers have successfully measured the mass and distance ...

Planets usually stay close to their host stars, tracing steady paths shaped by gravity. Yet some planets break free and drift alone through the Milky Way. Astronomers call these objects free-floating ...

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 ...

Astronomers have observed a planet that in some ways behaves more like a star — including a massive growth spurt unlike anything witnessed before in a free-floating planet. The rogue planet, which ...

Peking University, January 2, 2026: A lucky alignment of space- and ground-based telescopes has enabled researchers to nail down the mass of a rogue planet for the first time. Unlike worlds in our ...