Bizarre creature in ancient cocoon Credit: LiveScience.com/Benjamin Bomfleur A bizarre creature in ancient cocoon was found recently by researchers in Antartica, according to a Live Science report on Saturday, December 8, 2012. Researchers say that a “slimy mucous cocoon” may have been released by the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis about 200 million years ago. The [...]
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Bizarre creature in ancient cocoon discovered in Antartica (Photos)
AGU 2012 Fall Meeting: Science Technology at Extreme Depths, with James Cameron
Science Technology at Extreme Depths, with James Cameron and DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Scientists Tuesday, 4 December 2:30 pm Journalists can follow up on special session U22C with questions for James Cameron and three scientists from the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Expedition. The panel will discuss the sub #39;s innovative design as well as preliminary scientific findings including identification of new species and discovery of deepest example to date of gigantism in deep-sea animals. Along with a team of scientists and engineers, Cameron co-designed the submersible in which he became the first person to descend alone to the Earth #39;s deepest known point. The expedition included multiple sub dives to explore the New Britain and Mariana Trenches where it collected video footage of unprecedented clarity, physical oceanographic data, water samples, biological samples and sediment. Participants: James Cameron, Expedition Leader, DEEPSEA CHALLENGE; Chairman, Blue Planet Marine Research Foundation; Explorer-In-Residence, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA; Douglas Bartlett, Professor of Marine Microbial Genetics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, La Jolla, California, USA; Patricia Fryer, Professor, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Kevin Hand, Deputy Chief Scientist, Solar System Exploration, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA. Session: U22CFrom:AGUvideosViews:2 0ratingsTime:44:36More inScience Technology
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For the first time, ESA's Mars orbiter has relayed scientific data from NASA's Curiosity rover on the Red Planet's surface. The data included detailed images of "Rocknest3" and were received by ESA's deep-space antenna in Australia.
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NASAs Curiosity Mars rover got a bit of help from the European Space Agency (ESA) in October. Beaming data back to Earth from the surface of the Red Planet is often tricky, and Curiosity regularly uses satellites to act as relays when a proper line of sight isn't available. On October 6, the ESA probe Mars Express took up the slack by relaying data and images for the rover as part of an ESA-NASA support agreement.
Mars Express received 15 minutes worth of scientific data from Curiosity and then beamed it to ESAs 35-meter antenna in New Norcia, Australia, which relayed it to the the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. From there it was made immediately available to NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The data included a pair of images of the rock designated Rocknest 3. These were before and after images of the rock specimen being hit by Curiositys laser.
Image relayed by Mars Express of Rocknest 3 before being struck by ChemCams laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)
The quality of these images from ChemCam is outstanding, and the mosaic image of the spectrometer analyses has been essential for scientific interpretation of the data, said Sylvestre Maurice, Deputy Principal Investigator for ChemCam at Frances Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology. This combination of imaging and analysis has demonstrated its potential for future missions.
Most of Curiositys data is relayed by NASA's own satellites around Mars, but Mars Express acts as a backup relay in the event that the others arent available, as when it monitored Curiositys landing on August 6. It also acts as a relay for NASAs Opportunity rover.
Rocknest 3 indicating five spots where it was hit with the laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)
Another area where NASAs Mars rovers gets a bit of orbital help is where the weather is concerned. On November 10, Bruce Cantor of Malin Space Systems was using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters Mars Color Imager, when he noticed a large dust storm developing in Mars southern hemisphere. By November 16, Orbiter was detecting a rise in temperature in the area of 45F (25C), which was a sign that dust was rising in the atmosphere.
However, this was more than just an interesting bit of meteorology. Martian dust storms are the largest in the Solar System, and under the right conditions can grow into global super storms engulfing the entire planet in dust. If that had happened, the nuclear-powered Curiosity wouldn't have suffered worse than having to close the dust covers over its lenses however, Opportunity (which is solar powered) ran the risk of having its panels covered in dust, which might result in it being unable to charge its batteries.
Image relayed by Mars Express of Rocknest 3 after being struck by ChemCams laser (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP)
Fortunately, the storm didn't develop beyond a regional area and never came closer to Opportunity than about 837 miles (1,347 km). The rover detected a slight drop in clarity, but that was all. Meanwhile, Curiosity, which has a Spanish-built weather station aboard, detected a slight drop in pressure and overnight temperatures due to the storm. This data provided a valuable comparison to Orbiter's observations.
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November 26, 2012
Image Caption: Rocknest 3 relayed by Mars Express. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online
The European Space Agencys Mars Express has relayed scientific data from NASAs Curiosity rover for the first time.
The data from Curiosity included detailed images of Rocknest 3 taken by the rovers ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager camera.
ChemCam consists of the camera along with a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer, which fires a laser at targets and analyzes the chemical composition of vaporized material.
Curiosity transmitted scientific data up to the ESA satellite for 15 minutes, and a few hours later Mars Express pointed its high-gain antenna toward Earth and began downlinking the information to the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany.
The data was then immediately made available to NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, helping them prove that Curiosity was able to talk with ESAs satellite as well.
The first image was taken before a series of five ChemCam laser blasts, while the second image was taken after. The images were first taken early in the morning on October 6.
The quality of these images from ChemCam is outstanding, and the mosaic image of the spectrometer analyses has been essential for scientific interpretation of the data, said Sylvestre Maurice, Deputy Principal Investigator for ChemCam at Frances Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP).
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Washington, November 27 (ANI): ESA's Mars orbiter has for the first time relayed scientific data, including detailed images of 'Rocknest3', from NASA's Curiosity rover on the Red Planet's surface.
The data were received by ESA's deep-space antenna in Australia.
Early on the morning of 6 October, ESA's Mars Express looked down as it orbited the planet, lining up its lander communication antenna to point at Curiosity far below on the surface.
For 15 minutes, the NASA rover transmitted scientific data up to the ESA satellite. A few hours later, Mars Express slewed to point its high-gain antenna toward Earth and began downlinking the precious information to the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, via the Agency's 35 m-diameter antenna in New Norcia, Australia.
The data were immediately made available to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California for processing and analysis, proving again that NASA's amazing new rover can talk with Europe's veteran Mars orbiter.
The information included a pair of tremendously interesting images acquired on 4 October by Curiosity's ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager camera.
"The quality of these images from ChemCam is outstanding, and the mosaic image of the spectrometer analyses has been essential for scientific interpretation of the data," said Sylvestre Maurice, Deputy Principal Investigator for ChemCam at France's Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP).
"This combination of imaging and analysis has demonstrated its potential for future missions," he noted.
A third image, relayed separately by NASA, indicates the locations of the laser target points on Rocknest3, as seen by the RMI camera.
'Rocknest' is the area where Curiosity stopped for a month to perform its first mobile laboratory analyses on soil scooped from a small sand dune. Rocknest3 was a convenient nearby target where ChemCam made more than 30 observations using 1500 laser shots.
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ESA's Mars Express relays images of 'Rocknest3' from Curiosity rover
An odd object drifting with a small caravan of stars may be the closest known orphan planet
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Astronomers have discovered a potential "rogue" alien planet wandering alone just 100 light-years from Earth, suggesting that such starless worlds may be extremely common across the galaxy.
The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled Tuesday. The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth (in astronomical terms), perhaps after being booted from its own solar system.
"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France, said in a statement.
Orphan planet, or something else?
- Study leader Philippe Delorme
Delorme and his team discovered CFBDSIR2149 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, then examined its properties with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. [Video: Rogue Planet Has No Parent Star]
The newfound object appears to be among a stream of young stars called the AB Doradus moving group, the closest such stream to our own solar system.
Scientists think the AB Doradus stars all formed together between 50 million and 120 million years ago. If CFBDSIR2149 is indeed associated with the group and researchers cite a nearly 90 percent probability then the object is similarly young.
And if the discovery team is right about CFBDSIR2149's age, the body is likely a planet, with an average temperature of 806 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers said.
There's still a slight chance that CFBDSIR2149 is a brown dwarf a strange object that's larger than a planet but too small to trigger the internal nuclear fusion reactions required to become a full-fledged star. Additional observations should help decide the matter.
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Egypt backs Gaza as violence between Israel and Hamas escalates, Japan braces for yet another election, and why freestyle rappers have got more rhymes than your brain's got dissociated activity in medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices.
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The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter.
Astronomers have discovered a potential "rogue" alien planet wandering alone just 100 light-years from Earth, suggesting that such starless worlds may be extremely common across the galaxy.
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The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive thanJupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled today (Nov. 14). The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth (in astronomical terms; the Milky Way galaxy is 100,000 light-years wide), perhaps after being booted from its own solar system.
"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image oforphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France, said in a statement.
Orphan planet, or something else?
Delorme and his team detected CFBDSIR2149's infrared signature using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, then examined the body's properties with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. [Video: Rogue Planet Has No Parent Star]
The newfound object appears to be among a stream of young stars called the AB Doradus moving group, the closest such stream to our own solar system.
Scientists think the AB Doradus stars all formed together between 50 million and 120 million years ago. If CFBDSIR2149 is indeed associated with the group and researchers cite a nearly 90 percent probability then the object is similarly young.
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Gigantic orphan planet: Homeless world hurtles through space without star
Astronomers say they have discovered a potential rogue or orphan planet, Space.com reports.
The free-floating object has been named CFBDSIR2149 and is likely a gas giant that could be four to seven times larger than Jupiter, scientists said Wednesday. Itmay have been somehow booted out of its own solar system.
"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France, said in a statement.
The floating object was found among a stream of young stars called the AB Doradus moving group.
Scientists believe theres a slight chance CFBDSIR2149 might be a brown dwarf.
A brown dwarf is a strange object that is larger than a planet but not big enough to cause the internal nuclear fusion reactions to become a full-fledged star. CFBDSIR2149 needs to be studied further.
"We need new observations to confirm that this object belongs to the AB Doradus moving group," Delorme told Space.com via email. "With a good distance measurement and a more accurate proper motion, we will be able to increase (or decrease) the probability that it is indeed a planet."
"We now know that such massive planets are rare and that Neptunes or Earth-mass planets are much more common," Delorme said. "We also know that massive objects are more difficult to eject [from solar systems] than light ones. If you follow the rationale, you deduce that ejected exo-Neptunes and ejected exo-Earths should be much more common than objects like CFBDSIR2149."
Researchers are excited to have a starless planet so relatively close to Earth, 100 light-years away.
"This object is a really easy-to-study prototype of the 'normal' giant planets we hope to discover and study with the upcominggeneration of direct-imaging instruments," Delorme said. "It will help to improve our forecast of these objects' luminosity and hence help us discover them and, once discovered, it will help us understand the physics of their atmospheres."
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'Orphan,' 'Rogue' Starless Planet Discovered Floating Through Space, Astronomers Say
Shocking: Planet Nibiru Exposed by Scientists (Today) 11.15.2012
Planet Nibiru: Astronomers have discovered a "rogue" alien planet wandering alone, in our Solar System. The free-floating object, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled today (Nov. 14). The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth, perhaps after being booted from its own solar system. "If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France, said in a statement. Extra Tags: nibiru pictures, nibiru nasa, nibiru youtube, anunnaki nibiru, nibiru video, anunnaki, nibiru 2012, is nibiru real, Today 11/14/2012From:NibiruTodayViews:1240 13ratingsTime:00:49More inScience Technology
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Shocking: Planet Nibiru Exposed by Scientists (Today) 11.15.2012 - Video
#39;Orphan #39; Alien Planet or Space Station?
The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled today (Nov. 14). The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth (in astronomical terms), perhaps after being booted from its own solar system. "If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in Orphan planet, or something else? Delorme and his team discovered CFBDSIR2149 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, then examined its properties with the European Southern Observatory #39;s Very Large Telescope in Chile. The newfound object appears to be among a stream of young stars called the AB Doradus moving group, the closest such stream to our own solar system. Scientists think the AB Doradus stars all formed together between 50 million and 120 million years ago. If CFBDSIR2149 is indeed associated with the group mdash; and researchers cite a nearly 90 percent probability mdash; then the object is similarly young. And if the discovery team is right about CFBDSIR2149 #39;s age, the body is likely a planet, with an average temperature of 806 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius), researchers said. There #39;s still a slight chance that CFBDSIR2149 is a brown dwarf mdash; a strange object that #39;s larger than a ...From:KIDgrownupViews:401 3ratingsTime:00:41More inScience Technology
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Rogue Alien Planet Found With No Star! Nibiru, Planet X? 2012 HD
Astronomers have discovered a potential "rogue" alien planet wandering alone just 100 light-years from Earth, suggesting that such starless worlds may be extremely common across the galaxy. The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled today (Nov. 14). The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth (in astronomical terms; the Milky Way galaxy is 100000 light-years wide), perhaps after being booted from its own solar system. "If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France, said in a statement. Source Here: http://www.space.com Earth Orbit Tilted By Rogue Star, New Research Suggets http://www.huffingtonpost.com ADG Facebook: http://www.facebook.com Follow ADG on Twitter: twitter.comFrom:StephenHannardADGUKViews:240 21ratingsTime:00:54More inPeople Blogs
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Rogue Alien Planet Found With No Star! Nibiru, Planet X? 2012 HD - Video
Astronomers at the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France have discovered a potential orphan planet just 100 light-years away from Earth, science news sites reported on Wednesday, November 14, 2012.
An orphan planet is a planet that does not orbit a star, so it does not shine by reflected light. According to reports, the free-floating object is called CFBDSIR2149, and is probably a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter. It is said to be wandering alone probably after being ejected from its own solar system.
If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space, Philippe Delorme, the study leader reportedly said in a statement.
The objects infrared signature was detected using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and its properties were examined with the European Southern Observatorys Very Large Telescope in Chile, reports said.
More observations are needed to confirm if the object is indeed a planet. We need new observations to confirm that this object belongs to the AB Doradus moving group. With a good distance measurement and a more accurate proper motion, we will be able to increase (or decrease) the probability that it is indeed a planet, Delorme reportedly told Space.com via email.
Tags: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, CFBDSIR2149, Chile, France, Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble, Jupiter, orphan planet found, Philippe Delorme
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Orphan Planet Found: A Potential Orphan Planet Discovered By Astronomers
By Dan Satherley
Researchers have spotted a planet hurtling through space without a parent star.
The gas giant, between four and seven times the size of Jupiter, is the first of its kind to be discovered beyond any doubt.
Normally exoplanets are found by analysing a star's wobble caused by its planets' gravitational pull, and the light they block when they pass in front of the star. Without a star to orbit however, CFBDSIR2149-0403 was difficult to find.
"Although theorists had established the existence of this type of very cold and young planet, one had never been observed until today," says Universit de Montral astrophysicist tienne Artigau.
"The absence of a shining star in the vicinity of this planet enabled the team to study its atmosphere in great detail. This information will in turn enable astronomers to better understand exoplanets that do orbit stars."
Using the Canada France Hawaii Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea and the Very Large Telescope in Chile, the team observed "hundreds of millions" of stars, but only found one planet that wasn't a part of a solar system.
It's not entirely on its own, however it appears to be travelling with a group of around 30 stars called the "AB Doradus moving group", about 130 light years from Earth.
Astronomers don't know how it came to be whether it was a failed star, or ejected from a solar system or something else.
"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," says Philippe Delorme of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble.
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Astronomers have discovered a potential "rogue" alien planet wandering alone just 100 light-years from Earth, suggesting that such starless worlds may be extremely common across the galaxy.
The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled Wednesday. The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth (in astronomical terms), perhaps after being booted from its own solar system.
"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France said in a statement.
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Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: It looks as if someone is taking portraits of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars from a few feet away but who's the photographer?
Orphan planet, or something else? Delorme and his team detected CFBDSIR2149's infrared signature using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, then examined the body's properties with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. [ Video: Rogue Planet Has No Parent Star ]
The newfound object appears to be among a stream of young stars called the AB Doradus moving group, the closest such stream to our own solar system.
Scientists think the AB Doradus stars all formed together between 50 million and 120 million years ago. If CFBDSIR2149 is indeed associated with the group and researchers cite a nearly 90 percent probability then the object is similarly young.
And if the discovery team is right about CFBDSIR2149's age, the body is likely a planet, with an average temperature of 806 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius), researchers said.
There's still a slight chance that CFBDSIR2149 is a brown dwarf a strange object that's larger than a planet but too small to trigger the internal nuclear fusion reactions required to become a full-fledged star. Additional observations should help decide the matter.
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Astronomers have discovered a potential "rogue" alien planet wandering alone just 100 light-years from Earth, suggesting that such starless worlds may be extremely common across the galaxy.
The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter, scientists say in a new study unveiled today (Nov. 14). The planet cruises unbound through space relatively close to Earth (in astronomical terms), perhaps after being booted from its own solar system.
"If this little object is a planet that has been ejected from its native system, it conjures up the striking image of orphaned worlds, drifting in the emptiness of space," study leader Philippe Delorme, of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France, said in a statement.
Delorme and his team discovered CFBDSIR2149 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, then examined its properties with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. [Video: Rogue Planet Has No Parent Star]
The newfound object appears to be among a stream of young stars called the AB Doradus moving group, the closest such stream to our own solar system.
Scientists think the AB Doradus stars all formed together between 50 million and 120 million years ago. If CFBDSIR2149 is indeed associated with the group -- and researchers cite a nearly 90 percent probability -- then the object is similarly young.
And if the discovery team is right about CFBDSIR2149's age, the body is likely a planet, with an average temperature of 806 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers said.
There's still a slight chance that CFBDSIR2149 is a brown dwarf-- a strange object that's larger than a planet but too small to trigger the internal nuclear fusion reactions required to become a full-fledged star. Additional observations should help decide the matter.
"We need new observations to confirm that this object belongs to the AB Doradus moving group," Delorme told SPACE.com via email. "With a good distance measurement and a more accurate proper motion, we will be able to increase (or decrease) the probability that it is indeed a planet."
The new study was published today in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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Though they vary widely in other characteristics, we usually think of planets as having one unifying quality: they're all orbiting a star, right? Well ... apparently not. It seems there could be quite a few "orphan" worlds just floating out in space, and scientists think they just found one really close to Earth.
Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, a team of astronomers led by Philippe Delorme of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble in France discovered CFBDSIR2149, an object about 100 light-years from Earth that could be an orphaned planet that isn't tied to a star.
The object was found floating in a group of young stars known as the AB Doradus moving group, and scientists believe there's a 90 percent probability that CFBDSIR2149 is somehow tied to that group, and formed along with it 50 to 120 million years ago.
If Delorme and his colleagues are right about the object, then it's a gas giant planet with four to seven times the mass of Jupiter and a temperature that averages more than 800 degrees Farenheit. But there's also still a chance that CFBDSIR2149 is a brown dwarf, a gas object larger than most planets but too small to get the fusion reactions going that allow it to actually become a star.
Though it's definitely the closest to Earth that anyone's found so far, CFBDSIR2149 is very probably not the only "orphan" planet out there in the galaxy. In fact, previous studies have suggested there are actual more orphan planets than there are orbiting planets. But according to Delorme, even if that's true, CFBDSIR2149 is unusually large for what scientists usually think of when it comes to orphan planets.
(Via Huffington Post)
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Scientists may have found 'orphan' planet NOT orbiting a star
PARIS (AFP) - Astronomers on Wednesday reported they had detected a planet that had strayed from its star system and was wandering alone in deep space.
Object CFBDSIR2149 is believed to be a cold, young world that for unknown reasons has pulled free of the gravitational pull of its mother star, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said.
It is not the first time that a "free-floating" planet has been found, but this one is the closest that has ever been spotted, at over 100 light years from Earth.
Initial observations sketched the object as either a homeless planet or a tiny failed star called a brown dwarf, which lacks the bulk to trigger the nuclear fusion that makes stars shine.
But the probabilities narrowed when the astronomers noted it was roaming near a stream of young, restless stars called the AB Doradus Moving Group.
"This group is unique, in that it is made up of around 30 stars that all have the same age, have the same composition and that move together through space," said astrophysicist Lison Malo at the University of Montreal.
"It's the link between the planet and AB Doradus that enabled us to deduce its age and classify it as a planet."
The astronomers used an infrared camera at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and ESO's 8.2-metre (28.7-feet) Very Large Telescope in Chile, ranked the sixth biggest optical telescope in the world, to get a closer look.
CFBDSIR2149, they estimate, is between 50 and 120 million years old, with a temperature of around 400 degrees Celsius (750 degrees Fahrenheit) and a mass of four to seven times that of Jupiter, the biggest planet of our solar system.
"These objects are important, as they can either help us understand more about how planets may be ejected from planetary systems, or how very light objects can arise from the star formation process," said Philippe Delorme of France's Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics.
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