Astronomers Found a Planet That Lights Up Like the Aurora Borealis — But It Has No Sun

Have you ever seen the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights before? It forms simply when the sun’s charged particles come into contact with our planet’s atmosphere. However, astronomers found a rogue planet named SIMP J01365663+0933473 that lights up with Auroras despite not orbiting a sun.

This Planet Doesn’t Orbit a Star

Most planets we know, including all in our solar system, move or orbit around a particular star. But SIMP J01365663+0933473 does not. It just floats around in the same galaxy as we do and is about 20 light years away from Earth.

It is also estimated to be more than 12 times heavier than Jupiter. These types of planets with the mentioned characteristics are very hard to find in this vast vast galaxy and universe. That is why when astronomers found it, the scientific community was in awe.

Source: EarthSky

It Has a Magnetic Field Millions of Times Stronger Than Earth’s

Newly Found Rogue Planet is a Super Powerful Magnet

Another fact about this planet that is almost unbelievable is the amount of magnetic field it has. It is not only stronger, but it is millions of times more powerful than Earth.

Most people do not realize just how amazing that is, but that kind of power is almost unheard of coming from a planet that is not orbiting a star. A strong magnetic field on this planet is most likely affecting every particle inside it, causing them to move around and generate bright lights like an aurora.

Source: Science Alert

It Has Bright Auroras — Even Without a Sun

On Earth, our Aurora Borealis or other forms of Auroras only happen when charged particles from the sun, also called solar wind, hit our magnetic field and atmosphere.

However, this planet does not even have a Sun nearby, yet it still exhibits very bright Auroras. Scientists think that it is most likely because of its powerful magnetic field, as mentioned above.

The auroras of the planet glow very brightly in infrared and radio waves, to the point that they light up the sky of planet, despite being alone in the deep, dark space without a star to shine upon it.

Source: Astronomy.com

It Was Found by Listening to Its Radio Waves

Normally, astronomers will find a planet by watching how it blocks the light of a particular star, or by its orbit or movement around it. However, this planet was found through radio signals.

Telescopes were able to pick up very strong radio emissions that led to the discovery of planet SIMP J01365663+0933473, the first time a planet was found this way, giving our scientists more ways to explore the galaxy.

Source: PBS Nova

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Author's Final Thoughts

This planet is one of the most unique ones in the Galaxy, where it is almost as big as a star, yet it acts like a normal planet. It has no stars like our Sun to orbit around, yet it has auroras and glows like one, and gives off powerful radio signals.

Maybe this planet can help us understand more about how a planet is born and why it has such a strong magnetic field. It breaks the rule of what we know about planets to the point that it made our astronomers and scientific community wonder, what else is out there?

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