A Glowing Rogue Planet Was Spotted Drifting Near Our Solar System
In 2016, scientists stumbled upon a massive object just beyond our solar system, which they believed was a ‘failed’ brown dwarf star. Now, a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal has reclassified it as a rogue planet and it’s got some pretty bizarre characteristics.
Given the rather boring, scientific moniker SIMP J01365663+0933473, this newly classified planet is just below the threshold of brown-dwarfdom, typically set at 13 times the size of Jupiter. Weighing in at a mere 12.7 times the size of Jupiter, this mega-planet also has a magnetic field 200 times stronger than the gas giant we know. And it’s floating through space, untethered to any star.
Scientists observed some bright and powerful auroras near the planet’s polar regions due to its intense magnetic field – think the Northern Lights like you’ve never seen them before. This happens when charged solar particles bombard the planet, before being ionized by its magnetosphere.
The planet is relatively young, about 200 million years-old, and is drifting about 20 light-years away from us – a relatively short distance on a cosmic scale.
Artist’s representation of SIMP Credit:Credit: Caltech/Chuck Carter; NRAO/AUI/NSF
Sometimes rogue planets can become “captured” by another star and join the ranks of its solar system. This planet is currently being pulled by the gravitational force at our galactic center, but if it came close enough to our sun it could be sucked into its gravitational pull. In this scenario, a rogue planet might find itself crashing into other planets in our neighborhood, knocking into them like a pool cue and causing mass chaos.
This is unlikely to happen with SIMP, but scientists believe there could be a multitude of these rogue planets floating through the galaxy and occasionally wreaking havoc on unsuspecting solar systems, ahem, Nibiru?
The discovery of SIMP came about through the detection of its strong auroral radio emissions and scientists hope to use this method to discover more rogue planets. It would have been nearly impossible to have detected it otherwise, due to its lack of a parent star.
As we find more of these rogue planets in our cosmic region, it will hopefully tell us more about our place in the galaxy and what our future trajectory looks like. This prospect is exciting as long as we don’t find ourselves on a terminal collision course.
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The Longest Lunar Eclipse of the Century is This Week
The longest partial lunar eclipse is this week. What can we learn from the ancients about this celestial transitional event?
In the early morning hours of November 19, the moon will be in partial eclipse. NASA says the moon will slip behind the Earth’s shadow for about two and a half hours, and weather permitting, a huge swatch of the planet will be able to see at least some of the eclipse. The moon, as well as other celestial bodies, have played a big role in the lives of ancient peoples, mystics, and shamans.
Jack Cary, researcher and author of “Paranormal Planet,” said about the history and significance of the eclipse, “In ancient times, eclipses were always seen as an omen, whether it be good or bad. As the sun or the moon becomes shaded over, you’re seeing a connection both of the feminine and the masculine qualities of existence, and because of that it was seen as a holy union.”
What is the connection between the moon and divine feminine energy throughout history?
“The moon itself has always been seen as the goddess of the sky, and because of that all goddesses that were worshipped around the world in ancient civilizations all had this symbolism of the moon itself,” Cary said.
What did the ancient people know about the planets that we should remember now?
