In a galaxy 3.8 billion light-years away, far outside the Milky Way, a series of planets has been discovered drifting through space without parent stars.
ASTRONOMY, SPACE, EXOPLANETS
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma have unveiled a new study that could be an important step in the search for planets outside the Solar System - exoplanets. So far, exoplanets have been found almost exclusively within the Milky Way . The researchers from the US now claim to have found exoplanets in far greater distance.
Microlensing
As they explain in their work , the researchers used the method of "gravitational microlensing " to discover the exoplanets. In doing so, the refraction of light is exploited by objects with strong attraction in order to recognize objects that pass directly in line of sight to the earth. In the case of their discovery, the researchers studied the quasar RXJ 1131-1231 or the light emitted by this object to Earth. The raw data came from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Telescope, reports the International Business Times .
Moon to Jupiter size
They have encountered fluctuations in the light signal, which are highly likely to be explained by exoplanets. More specifically, the researchers want to have discovered a number of objects whose size lies between those of the earth's moon and Jupiter. How many were discovered is unknown. The researchers state that they are probably "unbound planets", planets that drift through their galaxy without a parent star.
"Cool Science"
"This is an example of how effective the techniques of analyzing extragalactic microlensing can be," said Eduardo Guerras, one of the contributing researchers, to Sci-News . "This galaxy is 3.8 billion light-years away, and even with the best telescope, you do not have the slightest chance of directly observing these planets, yet we can study them, reveal their existence, and even have an impression of their masses Science."