Astronomers have found evidence of massive rogue planets that may be capable of forming their own planetary systems independently of stars. These free-floating planets can act as a center for smaller planets to revolve around them. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, eight of these planets were observed, with masses between five and ten times that of Jupiter. These objects are believed to form from gas clouds, similar to stars, but lack the mass necessary for nuclear fusion, distinguishing them from brown dwarfs.
These discoveries show that the building blocks for forming planets can be found even around objects that are barely larger than Jupiter and drifting alone in space.
This means that the formation of planetary systems is not exclusive to stars but might also work around lonely starless worlds.
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