--- title: "Astronomers Find Lonely Starless Planets That Drift Through the Darkness of Space All by Themselves" description: "The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has revealed some of the saddest parts of our dark Universe." date: "2024-05-30" modified: "2024-05-30" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-find-lonely-rogue-planets" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "euclid" - "european space agency" - "Rogue Planets" - "the digest" --- # Astronomers Find Lonely Starless Planets That Drift Through the Darkness of Space All by Themselves ![The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has revealed some of the saddest parts of our dark Universe.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Goodnight, Sweet Prince The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has revealed some of the saddest parts of our predominantly dark universe. As the agency explains in a [press release](), its [dark matter-hunting]() deep space telescope has found seven new "rogue" planets that exist without stars to orbit or keep them warm. Along with its quest to figure out what the heck [dark matter]() and [dark energy]() really are, one of Euclid's biggest objectives was to find new free-floating planets, which as some scientists have posited [may be more populous]() among the cosmos than stars, [outnumbering them 20 to one](). As such, these forgotten worlds have generally evaded telescopes because there's [no stellar light shining upon them]() — making them some of the loneliest and unlikely places to [look for life]() in the cosmos. https://www.twitter.com/AFP/status/1795724890995310858 ## Trained Spotting We don't have direct observations of these rogue planets just yet, but using its [cutting-edge instruments](), Euclid found seven more of these strange worlds than anyone knew existed before last week. "We've all grown up with the Sun in the sky, and so to think of a planet just drifting throughout space with no star on their horizon is fascinating," marveled Gavin Coleman, a Queen Mary University of London astronomer who [spoke to *AFP*]() about the new ESA finding. Though not involved with the research, Coleman explained that unless these rogue planets have some sort of internal energy that we don't understand yet, it's unlikely life could exist on any of them. These impressive findings come less than a year [after Euclid was launched]() and roughly six months after it released its [first full-color images]() of our glittering, mysterious Universe. Carole Mundell, ESA's director of science, remarked in the agency's press release that as incredible as that first image drop was, "the second batch is no different." "It’s no exaggeration to say that the results we’re seeing from Euclid are unprecedented," Mundell enthused. **More on space telescopes:** [*James Webb Just Observed the Universe's Youngest Galaxies Being Born*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()