Hubble Telescope has discovered a rogue planet, a world drifting alone through space, thanks to a clever use of Einstein's gravity lensing. Astronomers spotted the planet, designated OJ388-54, while observing a distant galaxy.
This "lucky break" occurred when the gravity of a closer star bent the light from the galaxy, magnifying the faint glow of the wandering planet. Gravity lensing is a phenomenon predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity.
OJ388-54 is incredibly far away – about 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. It's also a heavyweight, estimated to be about six times the mass of Jupiter.
The finding, published in Nature Astronomy, offers a new way to find these elusive, free-floating planets and expands our understanding of planetary systems beyond our own. Scientists hope to find more using this technique.
