Scientists have said in a new study that there might be a lot more planets in the universe than earlier thought.

The new study says that there are many more planets that have escaped their solar systems and are wandering freely in space. This challenges the notion that a planet is something that orbits a star. The Jupiter-like planets found are roaming without association with any stars in space.

It was believed that about 20% of stars had massive planets attached to them. However, the new study said that that there are at least twice as many planets as stars.

The finding "is a revelation in the sense that it looks like a quintupling of the number of gas giants in the universe," said astronomer Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science, who is a part of the team that conducted the research.

Many scientists have said in the past that there might be planets that have gone loose. The study has presented strong evidence for the first time, supporting such theories. It is believed that the loosely roaming starts came out of their solar systems soon after they condensed from the interstellar dust that also formed the stars.