Astronomers spot a lonely Saturn-sized planet drifting through space

Technology Jan 05, 2026

Astronomers just found a Saturn-sized planet floating solo nearly 10,000 light-years from Earth—no star, just wandering the galaxy.
This rare find was published in Science.

How did they find it?

The team caught the planet when its gravity briefly magnified the light of a distant red giant—kind of like using nature's own telescope.
By comparing six observations from Gaia taken far apart in space, they could measure its mass and confirm it wasn't orbiting any star.

Why does it matter?

This rogue planet is about one-fifth Jupiter's mass and likely got kicked out of its original solar system.
With NASA's Roman Space Telescope launching in 2027 and China's Earth 2.0 satellite following in 2028, scientists hope to spot even more of these mysterious wanderers soon.