FREE-FLOATING BINARY 'PLANETS' BAFFLE THEORISTS.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have discovered 40 Jupiter-mass objects with binary companions in the Orion Nebula, challenging current models of planet formation. The researchers observed the nebula for 34.9 hours, focusing on its core, and found 540 objects with masses similar to or below that of Jupiter. What surprised the scientists the most was the high number of binary objects, which goes against theoretical predictions. The researchers suggest that current explanations for how planetary-mass objects form may be incomplete, and propose a combination of collapsing gravitationally and coalescing in a circumstellar disk as a possible solution. [Extracted from the article]