Rogue “Planet-Like Object” Floating By Itself 100 Light Years from Earth Is Baffling Astronomers

A mysterious object floating around by itself out in the middle of space has left astronomers baffled.

The object, called CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9 because they want to make sure they can remember it (?), is not orbiting anything… unless you count the galaxy itself.

French astronomers originally thought the rogue planet, which is roughly between four and seven times larger than the planet Jupiter, was part of the AB Doradus moving group, pinning it at somewhere between 50 and 120 million years old.

But more recent observations disprove that assumption. Now they aren’t sure what the object is anymore, leaning away from rogue planet toward brown dwarf — a hybrid too large to be classified as a planet but too small to be an actual star.

“CFBDSIR 2149-0403 is an atypical substellar object that is either a ‘free-floating planet’ or a rare high-metallicity brown dwarf. Or a combination of both,” said Dr Delorme of Grenoble Alpes University.

Then again, considering the thing is really far away, who knows what’s actually going on out there. These people were wrong about this thing for how long? What makes them so sure they are correct now?