The distant world also known as PSO J318.5-22 is around 20 million years old. In this planet like world, clouds comprising droplets of iron and hot dust have been observed. The alien world appears to be free-floating in space and has no host star to orbit.
The discovery was made by a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh, who used a telescope for studying the weather systems in the worlds beyond our solar system. The team compared the brightness of the alien planet with other neighbouring bodies, and found out that it is covered in layers of clouds. As the world rotates, the brightness changes.
The alien world is roughly the same size as Jupiter, which is the largest planet in the solar system. However, it is around 800 times massive. The temperatures inside the clouds is more than a whopping 800 degree Celsius, something that would literally burn up the entire Earth.
The discovery was even more surprising since the planet was not orbiting around any star. This implies that the world may have been thrown out of a solar system soon after its formation. The team plans to find out more about exoplanets, which in future may be capable of supporting life soon.
Image Credit: dailygalaxy.com