How Gravitational Microlensing Reveals Rogue Planets

This animation shows how gravitational microlensing can reveal island worlds. When an unseen rogue planet passes in front of a more distant star from our vantage point, light from the star bends as it passes through the warped space-time around the planet. The planet acts as a cosmic magnifying glass, amplifying the brightness of the background star. Read more: Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab