Rogue planet's record growth spurt of 6 billion tonnes per second

[Judi Lynn]

October 5, 2025
Velentina Boulter



Artist’s impression of the rogue planet Cha 1107-7626. Researchers suspect that strong magnetic fields could be funnelling material towards the planet, something only seen in stars. Credit: ESO

Astronomers have witnessed a planet 620 light-years away eat up nearby gas and dust at a rate of 6 billion tonnes a second, the fastest growth rate ever recorded for a rogue planet.

The planet, Cha 1107-7626, has a mass 5 to 10 times that of Jupiter. These observations shed light on how rogue planets, which don’t orbit a star, grow and behave during their early formation.

Planets are formed through a process called accretion, where dust, gas and other particles are gravitationally attracted into a disk which eventually clumps together into a planet. The dramatic rate at which this planet is accreting suggests that some rogue planets may form more like stars than typical star-orbiting planets.

. . .

“People may think of planets as quiet and stable worlds, but with this discovery we see that planetary-mass objects freely floating in space can be exciting places.”

More:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astronomy/rogue-planets-record-growth-spurt-of-6-billion-tonnes-per-second/

[Permanut]

1. Fascinating; any chance of it becoming a star?

[Judi Lynn]

2. Not sure, but didn't get the impression it would be likely.

Looks like this is a look into "new" material, and they are just beginning to study these critters and their life cycles.

[Easterncedar]

3. There's a sci-fi epic in this story

I wish I could write it!