--- title: "James Webb Spots Numerous Pairs of Planets, Hanging Out With No Stars" description: "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has spotted hundreds of lonely \"planets\" that are floating through space without parent stars." date: "2023-10-02" modified: "2023-10-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/james-webb-pairs-planets-no-stars" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "james webb space telescope" - "Orion" - "planets" - "the digest" --- # James Webb Spots Numerous Pairs of Planets, Hanging Out With No Stars ![NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has spotted hundreds of lonely "planets" that are floating through space without parent stars.]() *\Image: NASA/ESA/CSA/McCaughrean and Pearson\* ## Jumbo Discovery NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has spotted hundreds of lonely "planets" that are seemingly floating through empty space without being tethered to any star in particular. But many of them are not totally alone: instead, they're appearing in pairs. The discovery of these Jupiter Mass Binary Objects (JuMBOs), which showed up in a new survey of the Orion Nebula, has astronomers baffled, and could potentially force scientists to reevaluate our existing models of how planetary systems are formed. "My reactions ranged from: 'Whaaat?!?' to 'Are you sure?' to 'That's just so weird!' to 'How could binaries be ejected together?'" multidisciplinary scientist and JWST scientist Heidi Hammel, who was not on the survey team, [told the *BBC*](). Scientists have two possible explanations for the unusual phenomenon. They could either be proto-planets that haven't had the chance to fully form, or they originated in solar systems, but were later ejected into interstellar space. "We were looking for these very small objects and we find them," Mark McCaughrean, a senior adviser for science and exploration at the European Space Agency, [told *The Guardian*](). "We find them down as small as one Jupiter mass, even half a Jupiter mass, floating freely, not attached to a star." "Physics says you can’t even make objects that small," he added. "We wanted to see, can we break physics? And I think we have, which is good." ![]() *NASA/ESA/CSA/McCaughrean and Pearson* ## Chihuahua-Mass Pet They may have some hallmark characteristics of planets, like a hot atmosphere with steam and methane in it, but experts say they're technically not planets. McCaughrean had an evocative analogy to explain the distinction. "Most of us don’t have time to get wrapped up in this debate about what is a planet and what isn’t a planet," McCaughrean told *The Guardian*. "It’s like my cat is a chihuahua-mass pet. But it’s not a chihuahua, it’s a cat." While McCaughrean suggested in an interview with the *BBC* that the "ejection hypothesis is the favored one at the moment," the fact that the James Webb identified around 40 JuMBOs in pairs complicates matters. "But how do you kick out pairs of these things together?" he told the *BBC*. "Right now, we don't have an answer. It's one for the theoreticians." **More on James Webb:** *[James Webb Spots Possible Signs of Life on Distant Planet]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()