A ‘homeless planet’ which floats through space without orbiting a star had been discovered for the first time.
Scientists have speculated on the existence of such a planet and have been trawling the night skies for more than a decade, although the hunt was described as looking for a ‘needle in a thousand haystacks’.
The isolated planet, which astronomers believe may have been flung away during its formation, is not tied by gravity to a star and in 100 light years away.
University of Montreal (UdeM) researchers working with European colleagues and data provided by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) came across the huge discovery.
Itienne Artigau, an astrophysicist at UdeM, said: ’Although theorists had established the existence of this type of very cold and young planet, one had never been observed until today.’
The absence of a shining star in the area around this planet enabled the team to study its atmosphere in great detail.
This information will in turn enable astronomers to better understand planets that do orbit stars.
’Over the past few years, several objects of this type have been identified, but their existence could not be established without scientific confirmation of their age,’ said Jonathan Gagni, a doctoral student of physics at UdeM.
’Astronomers weren’t sure whether to categorise them as planets or as Brown Dwarfs.
’Brown dwarfs are what we could call failed stars, as they never manage to initiate nuclear reactions in their centres.’
The planet is called CFBDSIR2149 and appears to be part of a group of very young stars known as the AB Doradus Moving Group.
It is between 50 and 120 million years old, with a temperature of approximately 400 degrees celsius, and weighs four to seven times that of Jupiter.
The study’s findings support theories that suggest these kinds of isolated objects are more common than currently believed.
Astrophysicist Ms Artigau, who also worked on the study, said: ’This object was discovered during a scan that covered the equivalent of 1,000 times the surface of the full moon.
’We observed hundreds of millions of stars and planets, but we only found one homeless planet in our neighbourhood.
’Now we will be looking for them amongst an astronomical number of sources further afield.
’It’s like looking for a single needle in amongst thousands of haystacks.’
No Bank Deposits Will Be Spared from Confiscation 2013 05 18
As alert Zero Hedge readers are aware, this week the EURO Politburo is busy debating the dodgy subject of deposit "bail-ins."
The following article very succinctly explains this odious mode of fractal fractional reserve end-game chicanery.
The author encourages all of you to share it with others.
NO BANK DEPOSITS WILL BE SPARED FROM CONFISCATION
By Matthias Chang Esq, futurefastforward.com (with author’s permission)
I challenge ...
Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances” 2013 05 17 A recent Department of Defense instruction alters the US code applying to the military’s involvement in domestic law enforcement by allowing US troops to quell “civil disturbances” domestically without any Presidential authorization, greasing the skids for a de facto military coup in America along with the wholesale abolition of Posse Comitatus.
The instruction (embedded at the end of this article), which ...
Ancient Maya Pyramid Destroyed in Belize 2013 05 17 An archaeological group says it plans to take legal action.
Despite its small size, the Caribbean country of Belize is known for a few outstanding characteristics: a spectacular barrier reef, a teeming rain forest, and extensive Maya ruins.
It now has one fewer of those ruins.
A construction company in Belize has been scooping stone out of the major pyramid at the site ...
Ginger: A Warming Herb 2013 05 17
Ginger is an Asian herb that is particularly well known to us in the West. Over time, and with trial and error, its stimulating properties and piquant flavor have been integrated into both our herbal “materia medica” and cuisine.
Brewed as an herbal tea, ginger root is particularly helpful for those people who have underactive stomachs and difficulty producing adequate amounts ...
Australian man dead for 40 minutes revived with new CPR machine 2013 05 17 In an Australian first, doctors have used a new resuscitation technique to revive three patients who were clinically dead for up to an hour.
One of the lucky survivors was Colin Fiedler, 49, who was pronounced dead at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, after suffering a heart attack, The Herald Sun reported.
Doctors brought Fieldler back to life using a U.S.-made ...
No Bank Deposits Will Be Spared from Confiscation
Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances”
Ancient Maya Pyramid Destroyed in Belize
Ginger: A Warming Herb
Australian man dead for 40 minutes revived with new CPR machine