It’s been four years since Mike Brown, the astronomer who removed Pluto’s status as a planet, added a hypothetical one back in to explain strange orbits in the outer Solar System. In another two years the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will map those celestial backwaters to help find Brown’s Planet Nine. But what if this target can’t be seen? It’s a possibility that hit the headlines last year when Planet Nine was replaced, at least in excited media headlines, by an ancient black hole. Brown himself addressed the possibility, writing on Twitter: “P9 could definitely be a black hole, as long as it is the right mass. In fact, it could also be a six-Earth-mass hamburger.” So is a black hole lurking in the outer Solar System a statistical possibility worth considering? Or a whopper of a stab in the dark?
FINDING THE PHANTOM PHOTOBOMBERS
By monitoring a billion stars, we are finding the fingerprints of rogue planets, stars and possibly black holes
1 Like a converging lens
When an object of mass passes in front of a distant star, it can actually make the star brighter. While some stellar radiation will be blocked, more light rays become bent towards Earth by the foreground object’s gravity.
2 Setting stars aflicker
A number of objects are capable of producing the microlensing effect. These include rogue planets, brown dwarfs, white dwarfs, neutron stars and possibly PBHs.
3 A mysterious gravitational fingerprint
Denne historien er fra Issue 108-utgaven av All About Space.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 108-utgaven av All About Space.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED