by Kasey Cunningham

A recent discovery has changed the way scientists are viewing planets in the galaxy. Nomad planets may be far more abundant than the existing belief which says that most planets orbit around a star.

Right now, researchers at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology predict that there may be 100,000 times more nomad planets, than originally thought. These would be planets that have no connection to stars, planets that are moving freely throughout the galaxy. Scientists and researchers used gravitational microlensing, a technique that examines the effects of a massive object passing in front of a star. This research produced results that led the scientists to believe that about two nomad planets exist for every single planet that orbits a star.

DTM Staff Scientist Alan Boss says "to paraphrase Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz,' if correct, this extrapolation implies that we are not in Kansas anymore, and in fact we never were in Kansas. The universe is riddled with unseen planetary-mass objects that we are just now able to detect.”

A statement by the study’s leader, Louis Strigari has also sparked interest in the nomad planets. Strigari said, “ff any of these nomad planets are big enough to have a thick atmosphere, they could have trapped enough heat for bacterial life to exist.”

The search for exoplanets has produced over 700 types of planets outside the solar system. Specifics of the nomad planets are still unknown. Scientists are not sure if nomad planets are icy, rocky, or gas giants. Strigari believes, however, that some of the nomads were ejected from stars, but some evidence proves that other homeless planets could have formed on their own, without the help of star systems.

This recent discovery means even further investigation of the possibility of life outside planet Earth.