Scientists have observed a “rogue planet” that is growing at an alarming rate as it gobbles up six billion tons of gas and dust every second, a new paper revealed.
The newly studied object, formally called CHA 1107-7626, is 5-10 times larger than Jupiter and is rocketing through our galaxy roughly 620 light-years away from Earth, according to a study from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.
Like all rogue planets, this object does not orbit a star, but instead travels unencumbered through space, however this particular flyer “blurs the line between stars and planets,” according to a press release announcing the study.
The unique entity was found to be expanding at a never-before-seen rate — hoovering up trillions of tons of space debris as it continues to form while along its wayward path.
“People may think of planets as quiet and stable worlds, but with this discovery we see that planetary-mass objects freely floating in space can be exciting places,” the study’s lead author Victor Almendros-Abad, of the Astronomical Observatory of Palermo, said in a release.
This particular entity is sucking in the billions of tons of gas and dust which is in the process of constant free-falling into the center of the planet, the paper stated.
That matter drastically heats up as it hits the surface of CHA 1107-7626 resulting in a phenomenon that is visible through the spectrograph on the ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
As recently as August, the “rogue planet” was exhibiting accretion at the incredible billion-ton per-second rate with no indication that it was slowing down.
The research team also found that the chemistry of the disc encircling the rogue planet changed during the accretion, with magnetic activity and water vapor being detected during the process, the study reported.
This phenomenon has previously only been observed in stars, according to CBS News.
The object is believed to be roughly one or two million years old, putting it still “in its infancy,” experts told that outlet.
