A new kid in our solar system? Hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers a surprise
PARIS: It's an evocative idea that has long bedevilled scientists: a huge and mysterious planet is lurking in the darkness at the edge of our
solar system
, evading all our efforts to spot it.
Some astronomers say the strange, clustered orbits of icy rocks beyond
Neptune
indicate that something big is out there, which they have dubbed Planet Nine. Now, a US-based trio hunting this elusive world has instead stumbled on what appears to be a new
dwarf planet
in the solar system's outer reaches. And the existence of this new kid on the block could challenge the
Planet Nine
theory. Named
2017 OF201
, the new object is roughly 700km across, according to a preprint study published online last week.
That makes it three times smaller than Pluto. But that is still big enough to be considered a dwarf planet, lead study author
Sihao Cheng
of New Jersey's Institute for Advanced Study said. The object is currently three times farther away from Earth than Neptune. And it's extremely elongated orbit swings out over 1,600 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, taking it into the ring of icy rocks around the solar system called
Oort cloud
. It goes so far out, it could have passed by stars other than our Sun in the past, Cheng said.
During its 25,000-year orbit, the object is only close enough to Earth to be observed around 0.5% of the time, which is roughly a century. "It's already getting fainter and fainter," Cheng said. The discovery suggests "there are many hundreds of similar things on similar orbits" in the
Kuiper Belt
beyond Neptune. After spending over half a year sorting through a difficult dataset in search of Planet Nine, Cheng said he was "lucky" to have found anything at all. Researchers are seeking time to point James Webb, Hubble and ALMA telescopes at their discovery. But Sam Deen, a 23-year-old
amateur astronomer
, has been able to track the dwarf planet candidate through old datasets. "OF201 is probably one of the most interesting discoveries in the outer solar system in last decade," he said.
Back in 1930, astronomers were searching for Planet X when they found Pluto, which became our solar system's ninth planet. But Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006. There are now four other dwarf planets, and Cheng believes 2017 OF201 could join their ranks. When researchers modelled its orbit, they found it did not follow the clustered trend of similar objects. This could pose a problem for Planet Nine theory, but Cheng said more data is needed. He hopes this huge planet is out there somewhere. "We're in an era when big telescopes can see almost to the edge of universe," he said. But what's in our "backyard" largely remains unknown.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
43 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Galaxies flying away from us: How Hubble's redshift led us to the Big Bang
On a crisp night in the late 1920s, Edwin Hubble stood in the dome of the 100-inch Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory, high above the smog and streetlamps of Los Angeles. Through that giant eye, he measured the light from distant 'spiral nebulae' — what we now call galaxies — and found something remarkable. Their light was shifted toward the red end of the spectrum, a sign that they were racing away from us. It was as if the universe itself were stretching. When light from a moving source is stretched to longer wavelengths, we call it redshift — much like the way a passing train's whistle drops in pitch as it moves away. Hubble discovered that the farther a galaxy was, the greater its redshift — meaning the faster it was receding. This became the Hubble–Lemaître law, a simple but revolutionary equation showing that the universe is expanding. But here's the subtlety: the galaxies are not flying through space as bullets through the air. Instead, the space between them is stretching. A common analogy is raisin bread dough rising in the oven — as the dough expands, every raisin moves away from every other raisin, and the farther apart two raisins start, the faster they separate. Crucially, the bread isn't expanding into the kitchen; the dough itself is the 'space.' In the same way, the universe isn't expanding into some empty void — it's the distance scale itself that's growing. This is why galaxies farther away show greater redshift: they're not just distant in space, they're distant in time, and the intervening space has been stretching for billions of years. The implication was staggering: if the galaxies are all moving apart today, then in the distant past, they must have been much closer together. Follow this logic far enough back and you arrive at a moment when all the matter, energy, space, and time we know were compressed into a single, unimaginably dense point. The first to put this into words was Georges Lemaître, a Belgian priest and physicist. In 1931, he proposed that the universe began from a 'primeval atom' — an idea that would later be nicknamed the Big Bang. At the time, the name was meant to be dismissive; British astronomer Fred Hoyle, along with his student and celebrated Indian astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar, champions of the rival Steady State theory, coined it in a radio broadcast to mock the idea of a cosmic explosion. Ironically, the label stuck and became the most famous phrase in cosmology. For decades, the debate raged: was the universe eternal and unchanging, or did it have a beginning? The tie was broken not in an ivory tower, but in a New Jersey field. In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, two engineers at Bell Labs, were testing a radio antenna for satellite communications when they picked up a persistent hiss of microwave noise. They cleaned the antenna, even shooed away nesting pigeons — but the signal stayed. Unbeknownst to them, just 50 km away, Princeton physicist Robert Dicke and his team were preparing to search for the faint afterglow of the Big Bang. When the groups connected, the truth emerged: Penzias and Wilson had stumbled upon the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the fossil light from the universe's infancy, released about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. The CMB confirmed that the universe had indeed begun in a hot, dense state and has been cooling and expanding ever since. In the first fraction of a second, an incredible burst of inflation stretched space faster than the speed of light. This expansion wasn't into anything — rather, the very fabric of space itself was stretching, carrying galaxies along with it. As space grows, so does the distance scale we use to measure it: a galaxy whose light left billions of years ago was much closer then than it is today. That's why the farther away we look, the greater the redshift we see — we are peering not just across space, but back in time, to when the universe was smaller. The CMB is the afterglow from a time about 380,000 years after the Big Bang, when the universe had cooled enough for electrons and protons to form neutral atoms, letting light travel freely for the first time. That light has been on a 13.8-billion-year journey to us, its wavelength stretched by cosmic expansion from the fierce glare of the early universe into the faint microwave glow we detect today. Over the next minutes after the Big Bang, nuclear fusion forged the first elements: hydrogen, helium, and traces of lithium. Hundreds of millions of years later, the first stars and galaxies ignited, manufacturing heavier elements in their cores and seeding the cosmos with the building blocks of planets and life. Billions of years on, our Sun and Earth formed from recycled stardust, and here we are — creatures of carbon, contemplating the birth of time. The Big Bang theory is not just an origin story; it's a framework that explains everything from the cosmic web of galaxies to the faintest ripples in the CMB. It predicts the abundance of light elements, the distribution of galaxies, and the universe's large-scale geometry. Without it, we'd have no coherent picture of cosmic history. Today, the expansion first seen by Hubble is still ongoing — in fact, it's accelerating, driven by the mysterious dark energy. The latest measurements from telescopes like Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, and surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey continue to refine our understanding of the early universe, probing the first galaxies that emerged from cosmic darkness. The journey from a lone astronomer squinting at galaxies to a global scientific collaboration mapping the cosmos is a reminder that big ideas often start with small clues. As Carl Sagan once put it, 'We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.' The Big Bang is not just about how the universe began — it's about how we began, too. Shravan Hanasoge is an astrophysicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Pixxel-led consortium makes ‘suicide bid' at zero for EO PPP, to bear Rs 1,200-crore cost
iStock A consortium led by Bengaluru-based Pixxel, which has won the government contract to design, build, and operate India's first fully indigenous commercial Earth Observation (EO) satellite constellation, did so by bidding at zero cost. This means the group will bear the entire ₹1,200 crore investment while forgoing the government's public-private partnership (PPP) offer of up to ₹350 crore in support. 'The winning bid was zero. I cannot reveal the other bids, but this zero bid by the consortium is a very strong statement that the private sector sees immense opportunities in space,' IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka told ET. The Pixxel consortium, comprising SatSure, PierSight, and Dhruva Space, emerged as the lowest bidder (L1), ahead of two other technically qualified groups: one comprised Astra Microwave Products, Bharat Electronics, Sisir Radar, and Spectragaze Systems; the other was GalaxEye Space, with CoreEL. The request for proposal was issued a year ago, with IN-SPACe announcing the selection of the winning bidder on GalaxEye, one of the other technically qualified consortia, told ET that its bid was pegged at ₹97 crore. Over the next four years, the team will deploy 12 satellites carrying optical, hyperspectral, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors, delivering high-resolution data for agriculture, urban planning, disaster management, climate monitoring, and national Jyoti, Director, Technical Directorate, IN-SPACe, told ET that the first satellite will be launched within two years, with the remaining 11 to follow over the next two-and-a-half years. 'Once the first set of satellites is launched and initial data is received, it will undergo extensive validation and calibration before being offered to the commercial market,' he said the first satellite includes a lot of R&D as it has clearly defined the specifications in the tender. 'It's not just about launching 12 satellites but meeting exact parameters on revisit frequency, data resolution, and spatial coverage,' Goenka said. He added that for the first time, an Indian satellite will see multiple payloads or data capture capabilities integrated into a single mission. Pixxel, known for its hyperspectral imaging expertise, will spearhead satellite design and integration. SatSure will contribute with its knowledge in geospatial analytics and value-added services for sectors such as agriculture and infrastructure, while Dhruva Space will provide its expertise in satellite platform and ground segment solutions. PierSight will bring its capabilities in maritime surveillance, leveraging Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology to enhance monitoring and analytics over oceans and coastal regions. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Regulatory gray area makes investing in LVMH, BP tough For Indian retail How IDBI banker landed plush Delhi properties in Amtek's INR33k crore skimming As 50% US tariff looms, 6 key steps that can safeguard Indian economy Jane Street blow pushes Indian quants to ancient Greek idea to thrive Stock Radar: Astra Microwave showing signs of bottoming out after 16% fall from highs; time to buy? F&O Radar | Deploy Broken Wing in Paytm to play stock's bullish outlook These 9 banking stocks can give more than 28% returns in 1 year, according to analysts Why 2025 Could Be The Astrological Turning Point We've Been Waiting For
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Cohance Lifesciences announces $10 million investment in US-based arm
Cohance Lifesciences on Tuesday announced a strategic investment of USD 10 million (around Rs 87.6 crore) to expand bioconjugation capabilities at its US-based subsidiary, NJ Bio . The investment advances Cohance's global expansion in niche technology-led modalities, enhancing its ability to support innovators from early development through late-phase clinical supply, the company said in a statement. Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program The common good manufacturing practices (cGMP) compliant bioconjugation suite at NJ Bio's Princeton, New Jersey, facility significantly strengthens the company's capabilities to deliver fully integrated Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) solutions, it added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 32 Most Beautiful Women In The World Undo "The investment ... strengthening our footprint in the rapidly growing ADC space. By integrating payload-linker development and bioconjugation capabilities under one roof, NJ Bio will be well-positioned to support accelerated development timelines and help bring life-saving therapies to patients faster," Vivek Sharma, Executive Chairman, Cohance Lifesciences, said. In a separate statement, Cohance announced a Rs 23 crore investment and significant progress on its new oligonucleotide building block manufacturing facility in Hyderabad . Live Events "Together, these investments form part of Cohance's planned capacity expansion program across high-growth modalities, enhancing its ability to serve global innovators from early development to commercial supply," the company said. Cohance Lifesciences, formerly Suven Pharmaceuticals , is an innovator-focused global Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO), formed through the merger of Cohance Life Sciences into Suven Pharmaceuticals.
