Fastest exoplanet ever? Mysterious star system could escape the Milky Way

Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

Fastest Exoplanet Ever?

[{"selector":"#anim-0f1cf620-804a-4587-af15-779d8e668fef [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(2.483618924571068%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Astronomers may have found a planet orbiting a hypervelocity star, making it the fastest exoplanet system known. Representative pic

Blazing Speed

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Intergalactic Escape?

[{"selector":"#anim-5586efe5-4c3d-4893-be81-9513558f787f [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(2.7419355076739826%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] If this star is fast enough, it could eventually leave the Milky Way and drift into intergalactic space. Representative pic

Super-Neptune World

Scientists think the planet is a " super-Neptune ," orbiting a small star at a distance similar to Venus or Earth.

Gravitational Lens Trick

[{"selector":"#anim-fa857f55-8a0d-4688-b68a-5334e4d5bdc4 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(-0.12652298290122396%, -16.8212724461158%) scale(1.423728813559322)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] Researchers detected the objects in 2011 using gravitational microlensing, a method that bends light like a cosmic magnifying glass . Credit: NASA

Star or Rogue Planet?

[{"selector":"#anim-c8e623b8-fd23-43c9-b415-295179d2f844 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-25.590189866931052%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] The objects could either be a star and planet or a rogue super-Jupiter with a moon —scientists are still trying to confirm.

Galactic Downtown

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A Million-Year Journey

[{"selector":"#anim-85612f48-ca3c-45a0-b90f-0c526796f5df [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-38.340599724662994%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Even if it’s on an escape path, it will take millions of years for this system to fully leave the Milky Way.

Final Proof Awaited

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