Artist’s animation of a rogue planet in Rho Ophiuchi

This artist’s animation shows what a rogue planet — a planet that does not orbit a star but instead roams freely on its own — could look like. Recently, a team of astronomers, using data from several European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescopes and other facilities, discovered at least 70 new rogue planets in a region of the sky occupied by Upper Scorpius and Ophiucus. The cloud complex Rho Ophiuchi is visible in the background. More information and download options: Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser