Orphaned planets seem to be interesting and strange celestial bodies, because they wander through outer space without attachment to a star. That is, they do not rotate in an orbit like the earth around the sun. Recently, scientists have found two such free planets.
For many centuries, the idea of wandering orphaned planets remained only a hypothesis. Since they were not located close to the star, they did not receive sufficient illumination to be detected. However, now we have the technique of gravitational microlensing.
With the help of gravitational microlensing, researchers find planets when they block the light of a star for the perspective of an earthly observer. Thus, the planet becomes a lens for light, bending rays. The larger the planet, the greater the interruption. This is not the most efficient system. Some astronomers believe there are billions of orphans in the Milky Way. But mankind has so far managed to get the hand at discovering exoplanets tied to stars, and have found only about a dozen outcasts. Therefore, the discovery of two newcomers is an important thing.
The planets were officially named OGLE-2017-BLG-0560 and OGLE-2012-BLG-1323 and so far little information is known about them. The first in size reaches from the parameters of Jupiter to 20 Jupiter, and the second - between the Earth and Neptune. Their distance from the solar system remains unknown.
Scientists hope that the TESS satellite, launched on April 16, will provide an opportunity to find more orphan planets in order to get full information about these mysterious space objects.
