WANDERING WORLDS
WE’VE FOUND SO FAR
Cha 110913-773444
Distance:
529 light years
Discovery method:
Direct observation Constellation: Chamaeleon
Discovered in 2004, Cha 110913-773444 has the mass of about eight Jupiters, making it a candidate interstellar planet. Infrared observations show that it is surrounded by a faint disc of planet-forming material, perhaps moons in formation?
WISE 0855-0714
Distance:
7.4 light years
Discovery method: Direct observation Constellation: Hydra Discovered in 2014 using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, this small object is a little over seven light years away. It’s either a cold, low-mass brown dwarf or an interstellar planet on our cosmic doorstep.
PSO J318.5-22
Distance:
80 light years
Discovery method:
Direct observation Constellation: Capricornus
PSO J318 is the best studied interstellar planet so far, with a tightly constrained mass and age that indicate it is undoubtedly a planet rather than a brown dwarf. It was discovered in 2013.
CFBDSIR 2149-0403
Distance:
130 light years
Discovery method: Direct observation Constellation: Aquarius CFBDSIR 2149-0403 seems to be part of the AB Doradus Moving Group, a group of recently formed stars that’s 50 to 120 million years old. Its mass is likely to be between four and seven Jupiters.
OTS 44
Distance:
554 light years Discovery method: Direct observation Constellation: Chamaeleon
This faint young object has a mass between 6 and 17 Jupiters, putting it on the boundary between brown dwarf and planet. Excessive infrared radiation from its surroundings suggests it’s shrouded by a disc of planetforming material.