Gravitational Slingshot Effect and Rogue Planets

Rogue planets drifting alone

Chapter 1

The great escape

Chapter 2

Finding things in the dark

Chapter 3

Extreme environments

Chapter 4

The nomad neighbors

YOUR GOAL

Master of Rogue planets drifting alone

Ch 1 · The great escape

futura Stars that steal other worlds

futura Rogue Planets

Drifting in the dark, drifting in the dark, / A world without a sun!

futura The gravitational slingshot effect

Stars that steal other worlds

futura Nearby stars can pull planets out of their home orbits.

The gravitational slingshot effect

futura Massive planets like Jupiter can fling smaller neighbors into interstellar space.

Wander Orbs

BETA

futura Steer drifting worlds through deep space to learn how rogue planets survive without a sun.

Fun Fact

Cosmic orphans: Astronomers estimate there are more rogue planets in the Milky Way galaxy than there are stars.

Glossary

ejection (noun)
The act or process of forcing or throwing something out. In 2011, researchers modeled how dying stars shed mass and eject orbiting planets into interstellar space.

Gossip

Would you visit a dark rogue planet?

Quiz

What term do astronomers use for planets that drift through space without orbiting any star?

futura Born in a crowded nursery

Quiz

What happens to a planet's speed during a gravitational slingshot event that ejects it?

futura Failed stars that wander alone

Quiz

What is the escape velocity of a star in a solar system?

Quiz

How do rogue planets compare in estimated total number to stars in our galaxy?

Quiz

Which nebula is famous for hosting a dense nursery of newborn stars and potentially ejected rogue planets?

Quiz

Which force is primarily responsible for ejecting rogue planets from their home systems?

Quiz

What is the main reason most rogue planets are thrown out of their home solar systems?

Quiz

What is a brown dwarf in the context of astronomical bodies?