Overview

• Cha 1107-7626, a free-floating object about 5–10 Jupiter masses and ~620 light-years away in Chamaeleon, is accreting at the fastest rate ever recorded for a planetary-mass body.
• The accretion burst rose roughly eightfold from April–May to a peak in August 2025, persisting for months rather than a brief flare.
• The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, draw on ESO’s VLT X-shooter spectra with supporting data from JWST and archival VLT observations.
• During the burst, the disk’s chemistry shifted with water vapor detected only in the active phase, and diagnostics indicate material was funneled by strong magnetic fields.
• Archival evidence of a 2016 high-accretion episode hints at recurring bursts, and researchers say upcoming ELT, Rubin and Roman facilities should expand samples and statistics.