Astronomers spot young rogue planet gobbling up its surroundings

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Just as Earth orbits the sun, most planets discovered beyond our solar system orbit a host star. But some are out there all by themselves, called rogue planets. While their origins are poorly understood, astronomers have now spotted a voracious one in its infancy that offers new insight into these lonely worlds.

Researchers said this rogue planet, named Cha 1107-7626, is about five to 10 times more massive than Jupiter, our solar system’s largest planet. It was observed during a strong burst of growth at the center of a disk of gas and dust, forming much like a young star, as it gobbled up its surrounding material at a rate never previously seen in such an object.

At its peak, during August of this year, it was consuming this material at a rate of si