400 Earth-mass rogue planets in the Milky Way Galaxy? NASA explains

NASA reveals that the Milky Way Galaxy may contain over 400 Earth-mass rogue planets. These rogue planets drift in space and they do not orbit any star at all, which makes them special. It is speculated that these planets are hidden in the Milky Way Galaxy and NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could spot over 400 of these rogue planets.

According to NASA’s report, the unknown planets were from outside the galaxy, but drifted into it with some unknown mechanism.

“We estimate that our galaxy is home to 20 times more rogue planets than stars – trillions of worlds wandering alone,” said David Bennett, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

About the rogue planet and upcoming mission

So far we know that planets outside the solar system are called exoplanets, however, these exoplanets orbit around a star and they can be detected due to the effect of their host star, unlike the rogue planets, as they are so far away from their host star making it difficult for researchers to spot them.

To detect such a planet, NASA may launch a mission in May 2027. Scientists believe that NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope may be able to spot the rogue planets. Over 50 earth-sized rogue planets can be spotted but the new study reveals that the number of such planets has increased to 400. Scientists will employ microlensing, to effectively detect obscure, non-light-emitting entities such as rogue planets and other small objects.

Nancy Grace Roman Telescope

The Roman Space Telescope is an observatory which was created by NASA to study infrared astrophysics, photograph exoplanets, and uncover the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter. It is set to launch by May 2027. Now, the study reveals that it can also detect Earth-sized planets that are roaming out in space.