Scientists spot candidate for speediest exoplanet system

Astronomers may have discovered a scrawny star bolting through the middle of our galaxy with a planet in tow. If confirmed, the pair sets a new record for the fastest-moving exoplanet system, nearly double our solar system's ...
The is thought to move at least 1.2 million miles per hour, or 540 kilometers per second.

"We think this is a so-called super-Neptune world orbiting a at a distance that would lie between the orbits of Venus and Earth if it were in our solar system," said Sean Terry, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Since the star is so feeble, that's well outside its habitable zone. "If so, it will be the first planet ever found orbiting a hypervelocity star."
A paper describing the results, led by Terry, was published in The Astronomical Journal.

A star on the move

The pair of objects was first spotted indirectly in 2011 thanks to a chance alignment. A team of scientists combed through archived data from MOA (Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics)—a collaborative project focused on a microlensing survey conducted using the University of Canterbury Mount John Observatory in New Zealand—in search of light signals that betray the presence of exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system.

This artist’s concept visualizes a super-Neptune world orbiting a low-mass star near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists recently discovered such a system that may break the current record for fastest exoplanet system, traveling at least 1.2 million miles per hour, or 540 kilometers per second. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)
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This artist’s concept visualizes stars near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Each has a colorful trail indicating its speed –– the longer and redder the trail, the faster the star is moving. NASA scientists recently discovered a candidate for a particularly speedy star, visualized near the center of this image, with an orbiting planet. If confirmed, the pair sets a record for fastest known exoplanet system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)
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This Hubble Space Telescope image shows a bow shock around a very young star called LL Ori. Named for the crescent-shaped wave made by a ship as it moves through water, a bow shock can be created in space when two streams of gas collide. Scientists think a similar feature may be present around a newfound star that could be traveling at least 1.2 million miles per hour, or 540 kilometers per second. Traveling at such a high velocity in the galactic bulge (the central part of the galaxy) where gas is denser could generate a bow shock. Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: C. R. O’Dell (Vanderbilt University)
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