A groundbreaking study using the James Webb Space Telescope suggests that giant, free-floating planets can form their own planetary systems without a parent star. This discovery could revolutionize our understanding of planetary formation and suggest that starless worlds may be capable of creating their own cosmic neighborhoods.
Researchers believe that these rogue planetary systems, which would likely be much smaller than our solar system, could have formed in the same way stars do – from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. However, unlike stars, these planets failed to gather enough mass to trigger nuclear fusion in their cores, making them similar to “failed star” brown dwarfs.
The team observed eight young, free-floating planets using the JWST’s infrared capabilities, which allowed them to detect grains of silicates in surrounding disks of gas and dust. This finding provides early evidence that these planets could be forming their own miniature planetary systems.
Lead author Belinda Damian notes, “These discoveries show that the building blocks for forming planets can be found even around objects that are barely larger than Jupiter and drifting alone in space.” The team’s research suggests that free-floating planets may have the potential to form their own planetary systems, which could be scaled down versions of our solar system.
The detection of silicates is a crucial indicator of dust collecting together and crystallizing, marking the first stage in the formation of rocky, terrestrial planets like Earth. This finding supports prior research suggesting that protoplanetary disks forming around free-floating planets could survive for several million years, allowing planets to form.
While the plausibility of these starless mini-planetary systems remains uncertain, the discovery opens new avenues for exploration and research. As astronomer Aleks Scholz says, “Taken together, these studies show that objects with masses comparable to those of giant planets have the potential to form their own miniature planetary systems.”
Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy/exoplanets/james-webb-space-telescope-finds-giant-lonely-exoplanets-can-build-their-own-planetary-friends-without-a-parent-star