Lonely, young planet drifting in space without a star

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Astronomers find a young, low-mass planet wandering through space alone
• "We have never before seen an object free-floating in space that that looks like this," one says
• The planet will give an insight into the workings of young gas-giant planets like Jupiter
• It is easier to observe than other similar planets because it is not orbiting a young star

 It's just a newborn in planetary terms, and it's drifting all alone in space without a star to orbit.

The solitary life of this newly discovered planet, with the catchy name PSO J318.5-22, has astronomers excited.

Only 80 light-years from Earth, the 12 million-year-old planet has properties similar to those of gas-giant planets orbiting young stars.

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But because it is floating alone through space, rather than around a host star, astronomers can study it much more easily.

"We have never before seen an object free-floating in space that looks like this," said Dr. Michael Liu of the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who led the international team that discovered the planet.

"It has all the characteristics of young planets found around other stars, but it is drifting out there all alone. I had often wondered if such solitary objects exist, and now we know they do."