N. Metcalfe & Pan-STARRS 1 Science Consortium, AttributionPSO J318.5-22
A planet drifting alone through space with no star at all
Overview
PSO J318.5−22 is an extrasolar planetary-mass object that does not orbit any star, an analog to directly imaged young gas giants. There is no consensus yet among astronomers whether the object should be referred to as a rogue planet, as a young brown dwarf, or as a sub-brown dwarf. It is approximately 80 light-years away and belongs to the Beta Pictoris moving group. The object was discovered in 2013 in images taken by the Pan-STARRS PS1 wide-field telescope. PSO J318.5-22's age is inferred to be 23 million years, the same age as the Beta Pictoris moving group. Based on its calculated temperature and age, it is classified under the brown dwarf spectral type L7.
Source: Wikipedia
Why it matters
- Found in 2013 by the Pan-STARRS survey, about 80 light-years away.
- Roughly 6 Jupiter masses and 12 million years old, likely a member of the Beta Pictoris moving group.
- Its brightness varies as clouds rotate into view — weather on a starless world.
Discovery & system
- Discovered
- 2013 · imaging
The system
No orbital data for this object, so there is nothing to draw yet.
By the numbers
- Radius
- 1.53 R♃17.1 R⊕
- Mass
- 6.5 M♃2,066 M⊕
- Equilibrium temp.
- 1,160 K887 °C
- Distance from Earth
- 80.2 ly24.6 pc
Sources
Image: N. Metcalfe & Pan-STARRS 1 Science Consortium, Attribution · Attribution · image page
Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Taglines and highlights are editorial.