科学家确证流浪行星候选体的行星身份

Core Insights - An international team led by Professor Dong Subo from Peking University's Department of Astronomy has confirmed the planetary identity of a candidate rogue planet, marking a significant achievement in the field of astronomy [1][2] Group 1: Discovery and Methodology - Rogue planets do not orbit stars but drift through interstellar space, making them difficult to detect due to their lack of intrinsic light [1] - The team utilized the gravitational lensing effect, proposed by Einstein, to capture the rogue planet's presence as it passed in front of a distant star, causing a temporary increase in the star's brightness [1] - Approximately 10 candidate rogue planets have been identified using this method previously, but their masses could not be independently and accurately measured until now [1] Group 2: Observational Details - The rogue planet candidate was discovered on May 3, 2024, during a micro-lensing event that lasted about two days [2] - The European Space Agency's Gaia satellite was uniquely positioned to observe this event, covering the peak brightness phase for 16 hours and completing six measurements [1][2] - Such an opportunity for observation has only occurred once in Gaia's over 10 years of operation [1] Group 3: Findings and Implications - The analysis of ground and Gaia observational data led to the conclusion that the mass of the rogue planet candidate is comparable to that of Saturn [2] - This finding confirms that the candidate is indeed a planet, ruling out the possibility of it being a more massive brown dwarf or a star [2]