What would sunless planet do?

[Deckerd]

This news from the BBC talks about a large gas giant that has been kicked into a strange orbit by the ripples cause by its star decaying. I know that 'dead' stars still have enough mass to keep their planets orbiting but I was wondering what would happen if the 'kick' was so strong it actually fired a gas giant out of orbit?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Well, a wiki on the subject is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_planet. That'll get you started.

Here's some highlights:

The researchers estimated from their observations that there are nearly two free-floaters for every star in our galaxy.[6][7][8] Other estimations suggest a much larger number, up to 100,000 times more free-floating planets than stars in our Milky Way. [9]

It is calculated that for an Earth-sized object at a kilobar hydrogen atmospheric pressures in which a convective gas adiabat has formed, geothermal energy from residual core radioisotope decay will be sufficient to heat the surface to temperatures above the melting point of water.[10] Thus, it is proposed that interstellar planetary bodies with extensive liquid water oceans may exist. It is further suggested that these planets are likely to remain geologically active for long periods, providing a geodynamo-created protective magnetosphere and possible sea floor volcanism which could provide an energy source for life.[10]

 

[B.J.]

There's also a theory that our own Solar System used to have *5* gas giants, and one of them got kicked out. See here for story.

 

[Deckerd]

I wonder how they could be detected? Not being lit by anything and not having any natural source of light.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I wonder how they could be detected? Not being lit by anything and not having any natural source of light.

Gravitational microlensing. That's described in the wiki I linked.

 

[Deckerd]

Has gravitational microlensing found interstellar planets?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Read. The. Wiki. Article. I. Linked.

lol.

 

[Deckerd]

I prefer talking on a message board. I find I learn a lot more than wiki.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The stats for the estimated number of rogue planets in the galaxy was determined by a sample of measurements believed to be gravitational microlensing detections. So, the answer is, maybe rogue planets have been detected; and if the interpretation of the data is correct, then the answer is yes.

In a nutshell.

 

[Deckerd]

What about other colours?

sorry sorry

 

[CorporalCaptain]

lol. Yeah, I had to correct rouge to rogue. Damn anagrams.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I wonder how they could be detected? Not being lit by anything and not having any natural source of light.

Gravitational microlensing. That's described in the wiki I linked.

That and when the Eagles launch.

 

[publiusr]

More likely would be a gas giant wandering and ejecting smaller bodies from the system, These may have geologic activity to sustain microbial life--or some slimy founders for Odo.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

What would the planets do? Well, they wouldn't care, they would probably freeze and look like this artist impression of a rogue planet.

Now, the real question is, what would you do if you found yourself on one? Could internal energy sustain life for a while, or could you sustain a small civilization using, say, fusion reactors? I've read that some people have hypothesised that with the right atmosphere, you could have little heat loss so that living there can be survivable. Boy, wouldn't that be a gloomy life?

On a similar note, a couple of years ago I imagined a story of a civilisation living on a planet on an unstable orbit. Because of the unstable orbit, they had all evolved the ability to survive freezing and huge temperature differences. Their planet was eventually tossed into interstellar space, and they were frozen without realizing they had just lost their sun. So they ended up flying through space for millennia with all of them still alive and unaware.

I was trying to pen it down, but I had trouble with making a decent plot, especially after I took out the sexual deviance out of it...

 

[RoJoHen]

Boy, wouldn't that be a gloomy life?

You would need to bring tanning beds and lots of Vitamin D supplements.

 

[gturner]

Isn't it bigoted to call them "rogue" planets just because they don't form a stable family unit with a parent star? That's not any better than calling them bastard planets. Why not call them orphan planets instead? Won't someone think of the orphans?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I wonder how they could be detected? Not being lit by anything and not having any natural source of light.

Gravitational microlensing. That's described in the wiki I linked.

That and when the Eagles launch.

Finally got that. Yep, I was slow.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Isn't it bigoted to call them "rogue" planets just because they don't form a stable family unit with a parent star? That's not any better than calling them bastard planets. Why not call them orphan planets instead? Won't someone think of the orphans?

Bastard planet means a captured planet. An orphan planet means a planet whose star has been shattered into smithereens. And a bigoted planet means a planet who is not gravitationally attracted to rouge planets. But don't ask me what a rouge planet is.

 

[Deckerd]

Mars. Mars is a rouge planet.

 

[gturner]

Isn't it bigoted to call them "rogue" planets just because they don't form a stable family unit with a parent star? That's not any better than calling them bastard planets. Why not call them orphan planets instead? Won't someone think of the orphans?

Bastard planet means a captured planet. An orphan planet means a planet whose star has been shattered into smithereens. And a bigoted planet means a planet who is not gravitationally attracted to rouge planets. But don't ask me what a rouge planet is.

Shouldn't a captured planet be called an adopted planet, or maybe a Kato Katlin planet if it just showed up as an adult and stayed forever, seeking stardom? Do globular clusters have Kardashian planets?