A recent study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters investigates the potential existence of Mars-sized free-floating planets (FFPs)—also known as rogue planets, starless planets, and wandering planets—that could have been captured by our sun’s gravity long ago and orbit in the outer solar system approximately 1,400 astronomical units (AU) from the sun. For context, the farthest known planetary body in the solar system is Pluto, which orbits approximately 39 AU from the sun, and is also part of the Kuiper Belt, which scientists estimate extends as far out as 1,000 AU from the sun.
How many?
“…the results indicate the potential for the existence of a Mars-sized, or even a Mercury-sized planetary body somewhere in the outer solar system…” Sounds like maybe one?
This sentence has me confused, “so if any fraction of them have regions with energy budgets that can support liquid water, “. If they are so far from a star, how would they have any energy budget for liquid water? Wouldn’t they be a complete iceball? In these scenarios, could techtonic activity create enough energy to overcome no external source of energy enough to create an environment with liquid water?
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So many!
That is a lot.
I imagine if it was at least 1, someone’s gonna slap a name on it and tell everyone.