'Rogue' alien world found 'floating free' in space by Nasa's planet-hunter TESS

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The findings were published in Cornell University's arXiv journal. 

The paper is titled: "Searching for Free-Floating Planets with TESS: I. Discovery of a First Terrestrial-Mass Candidate."

Researchers said free-floating planets "remain one of the least explored exoplanet demographics." 

Free-floating planets are hard to detect because it can only be done when they pass by a star and warp the light from it.

This is because free-floating planets do not orbit a star. 

"Due to their negligible electromagnetic emission at all wavelengths, the only observational technique able to detect these worlds is gravitational microlensing," the paper said. 

ROGUE PLANET DISCOVERY

TESS, which stands for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, was designed by NASA to detect nearby exoplanets orbiting stars outside our solar system.

The researchers explained in the paper that TESS is fully capable of detecting free-floating planets even though it hasn't before. 

This is because TESS "has monitored hundreds of millions of stars, making it well-suited to search for short-duration microlensing events as well."

It is heavily believed the discovery is a free-floating planet but it is considered just a candidate currently. 

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The free-floating planet candidate was discovered through a star named " TIC-107150013."

The event of the free-floating plant candidate passing by the star showed "prominent finite-source features," the paper said.

The paper added this made "it consistent with a free-floating planet in the terrestrial-mass range."

What is an exoplanet?

Here's what you need to know...

• An exoplanet is a planet that is located outside of our solar system and is orbiting its own star, like how Earth orbits the Sun
• They are very hard to see with telescopes because they are often hidden by the brightness of their star
• Nasa sent the Kepler space telescope into orbit to find Earth-sized exoplanets that might support life
• Over 5,500 exoplanets have been discovered so far, and more missions to find even more exoplanets are planned
• A good way to spot an exoplanet is to look for wobbly stars, because a disruption to starlight can indicate that a planet is orbiting it and therefore blocking out light on occasion
• Exoplanets are very common in the universe, and the more we find that look like Earth, the closer we get to knowing whether we're alone out there

Free-floating planets usually form around a star like other planets but get booted from their system over time from gravitational effects from larger planets, The Planetary Society reported. 

Some scientists believe that free-floating planets can have life on them like Earth.

NEW POSSIBILITIES

The researchers are thrilled over the discovery because it has led to new possibilities while using TESS. 

"This exciting result indicates that our ongoing search through all TESS sectors has the opportunity to shed new light on this enigmatic population of worlds," the paper said.

TESS is a satellite in space and orbits at a high-Earth orbit.

Its position in space allows it to get "an unobstructed view of its field to obtain continuous light curves and a more stable platform for precise photometry than the low Earth orbit," NASA explained.

It was launched in 2018 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and was aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.