Researchers claim to have found 1st possible extragalactic planet

Team Udayavani, Sep 27, 2020, 7:08 PM IST

Researchers claim to have found the first evidence for a candidate planet in another galaxy. It lies in the M51 Whirlpool Galaxy which is approximately 23 million light-years away from the Earth.

According to Phys.org, discoveries like these have led scientists to believe that there are likely billions of planets in the Milky Way. But thus far, it has not been possible to identify a planet that exists in another galaxy.

In this new effort, the researchers believe they have found such a candidate. If it is confirmed, it will be named M51-ULS-1b.

The galaxy is relatively close to Ursa Major. The object orbits a binary system at a distance of perhaps ten times Earth’s distance from the Sun.