rogue planet astronomy Actions Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/rogue-planet Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/rogue-planet Also known as: free-floating planet Written by Don Vaughan Don Vaughan is a freelance writer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Don Vaughan Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Aug 15, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Also called: free-floating planet (Show more) rogue planet, in astronomy, planets that do not orbit a star but instead wander freely through space. Astronomers believe that most rogue planets were forced out of their original star systems via gravitational encounters with other celestial bodies. Rogue planets are objects smaller than brown dwarfs, objects that are intermediate in size between planets and stars. Many astronomers draw the line between brown dwarfs and planets at the lower fusion boundary of about 13 Jupiter masses, or 0.013 times the mass of the Sun. Objects heavier than this burn deuterium in their cores. The first rogue planets were discovered in ...(100 of 408 words)

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