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There are likely millions of \u201crogue\u201d or free-floating planets (FFPs) spread through the galaxy. These planets, which aren\u2019t big enough to become stars but also aren\u2019t beholden to a star\u2019s gravity, are some of the hardest objects for astronomers to spot, as they don\u2019t give off their own light, and can only be seen when they cross in front of something that does give off its own light. Enter Euclid, a space telescope that launched last year. Its primary mission is to observe the universe\u2019s history, but a new paper describes an exciting side project \u2013 finding FFPs in Orion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n In particular, it is finding FFPs around a system known as Sigma Orionis. Famously located on the eastern side of Orion\u2019s Belt, this \u201cstar\u201d is a system of at least five different stars, all gravitationally bound in one way or another, forming what is known as a \u201ccluster.\u201d It\u2019s also surrounded by a \u201cdust wave\u201d of particles pointing at the nearby Horsehead Nebula, all of which lends itself to being a place where it would be easy to find FFPs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Free-floating planets of this type can also be considered \u201cfailed stars\u201d as they did not have enough mass to start the fusion process that comes with star formation. This isn\u2019t the first time they\u2019ve been found in star-forming regions. Other FFPs have been found in NGC 1333, Collider 69, and even the Orion Nebula. This isn\u2019t even the first time they\u2019ve been found in Sigma Orionis \u2013 but it is the first time they\u2019ve been detected with the accuracy Euclid allows. As the paper\u2019s authors put it, they \u201cappear to be ubiquitous and numerous.\u201d<\/p>\n \n