A ‘rogue asteroid field’ almost delays the Valoria 3 analog Mars mission — Commander’s Report: sol 2

Dr. Michaela Musilova is the director of Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) program, which conducts analog missions to the moon and Mars for scientific research at a habitat on the volcano Mauna Loa. Currently, she is in command of the two-week Valoria 3 Martian mission and contributed this report to Space.com’s Expert Voices: … Read more

Astronomers Detect Up to 170 Rogue Planets Hurtling Aimlessly Through Space

Interstellar space is a graveyard of lost souls. Adrift far from any star, these planets float in the darkness like ghost ships in the night. Catching sight of one requires patience, and a good eye. But a new approach based on tens of thousands of images collected by the European Southern Observatory’s facilities has resulted … Read more

Rogue planets: At least 70 free-floating worlds spotted drifting in space

Free-floating planets are hard to spot, but astronomers have bagged a large haul by looking for candidates in a nearby star-forming region Space 22 December 2021 By Alex Wilkins Artist’s impression of a rogue planet COSMIC DANCE Team Astronomers have spotted what seems to be at least 70 planets drifting through space by themselves. These … Read more

Astronomers find record-breaking haul of starless ‘rogue’ planets

Astronomers have discovered dozens of new “rogue” planets, roughly doubling the known number of these mysterious free-roaming worlds.  A team of researchers found a collection of at least 70 exoplanets without parent stars — the largest single group of rogue planets ever found — in a patch of space about 420 light-years from Earth, a … Read more