
Planet Nine may not be a planet at all

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After centuries of observing the sky, the map of our local solar system has become quite detailed. We live on one of the rocky inner planets. Then there is an asteroid belt, two gas giants, two ice giants, then a second belt of many small icy bodies. However, in the impenetrable outer solar system, an invisible dragon is discovered, researchers have come to suspect.
By exploring the dark, astronomers have managed to glimpse what could fill the lower regions far beyond Neptune. And what they see does not make sense. When the researchers predicted chaos (remnants of debris dispersed by the tumultuous formation of the solar system), they see an unexpected order. The orbits of distant objects are grouped together. Their nearest approach points stop below a certain line for no apparent reason. In a handful of these models, many scientists see the work of an invisible entity.
"There must be a lot more mass there," he says. Ann-Marie Madigan, astrophysicist at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The main theory is that a giant planet perhaps ten times heavier than Earth, the planet Nine, has pushed its little neighbors. Thorough research of the weak bully has been underway for a few years and, as it spreads to alternative ideas, they emerge. Madigan et al., For example, discovered that a large disc of smaller bodies could have identical effects, Scientific American reported last week
One challenge to Planet Nine's theory is that, even if it explains the strange orbits of objects that astronomers see today, theorists do not know how such a huge planet could exist in the external solar system. The gravity of the sun weakens with its light, so a large planet that formed there should have been torn off by a passing star. Or if it started near the sun and then veered, what stopped it? "If it's a planet, it's a strange place for a planet," he says. James Unwin, physicist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
But Madigan's simulations convinced her that she can get rare and grouped orbits without the headache of Planet Nine. As the solar system formed, he says, Jupiter and Saturn should have drilled many planetary debris in long oval orbits that collectively form a disc in the shape of a washer not detected beyond the kingdom of Pluto. Other researchers have speculated that the small masses of any object should correspond to modeling errors and mathematical rounding, but Madigan found that they could add up after all.
When you run digital models of the solar system, you discover that in the distant past, the disc could have turned into a short-lived cone before releasing again into a "more swollen" disc. And when dust settles in such systems, they show the same aberrations that inspired the Planet Nine hypothesis, according to two not yet peer reviewed publications published this spring. "This may explain everything that has been abnormal in the external solar system," says Madigan. "And it's not something I say lightly."
However, he points out that his story requires his own act of faith. In order for the disc to completely supplant Planet Nine, it needs 20 masses of earthly material, the absolute maximum amount of debris that should exist. "We are really on the verge of what is reasonable," she said.
Another team proposed a smaller disc that works through a different mechanism. This object could take responsibility for sculpting the outer solar system with Planet Nine, says the co-author. Antranik Sefilian, doctoral student at Cambridge University, which reduces the theoretical size of the two structures.
Whether the culprit is a perfectly located planet, a particularly massive disk, or a combination of the two, astrophysicists are inclined to conclude that something improbable has happened in the external solar system. And some lean more than others.
Last fall, Unwin co-authored a publication speculating that the mysterious mass could be a little black hole left from the universe training. A "main" black hole has never been detected, but an investigation has revealed Circumstantial evidence that rebel planets or black holes of the planet Nine mass could cross the Milky Way. If our sun could capture the former, Unwin reasons, why the latter? "It is a crazy idea," he says, "but it is not unreasonable."
The difficult task of deciding between unreasonable ideas will likely fall to astronomers. Mike Brown, an influential supporter of Planet Nine theory, is leading the search for the elusive body that could end the debate at any time. Last week, when looking at the astronomical data, he saw a point that seemed promising, he recently told it on Twitter, although it turned out that it was # 39; a simulated object that he had injected to ensure that his research process was working.
Last Saturday, at 12:02 a.m., I found what looked very much like Planet Nine (spoiler: it wasn't). It was in the data in the right places with the right brightness moving in the right directions. The data in this part of the sky was generally quite good. My breathing slowed down …
– Mike Brown (@plutokiller) May 4, 2020
If Brown sees nothing, the next-generation Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is expected to take its first images this year, will likely make a landmark decision within five years. Because it will detect much weaker objects than current telescopes, Madigan hopes to identify Planet Nine or start mapping objects on the inside edge of his disc. Or, it could detect enough new objects to merge the patterns seen today, and that doesn't end up being a mystery to explain.
In the unlikely event that all of the current telescopic surveys fail and the anomalies last for years of Vera C. Rubin Observatory operations, Unwin's overriding black hole theory could begin to appear even more reasonable. Edward Witten, theoretical physicist and pioneer of string theory, envisioned such a future last week when he published a prepublication outlining extreme measures to locate the absolute invisible: submit a hunt group.
Inspired by Breakthrough Starshot, an ambitious project that aims to one day send nanoprobes to the nearest star, Witten did the math by spraying a fleet of simple probes in many directions, hoping that the we would tremble while crossing the black hole. . Equipped with luminous candles, the probes would fly at perhaps one percent of the speed of light (powered by a powerful terrestrial laser beam), which would bring the journey to the realm of the theoretical black hole to around a decade. Such probes could, if they are sufficiently sensitive, complete a definitive mass map in the external solar system, whether on planets, disks, black holes or all of the above.
NAIL reply published this week He pointed out that once the probes leave the solar wind, pushing the charged particles could mask the attraction of any black hole. However, even those used to thinking big recognize that the program will have to overcome some more pressing hurdles first. The launch infrastructure development is expected to cost at least half a trillion dollars, and the necessary laser materials and technologies do not exist today.
"It's a super fun idea," says Unwin. "However, this comes at a higher price."