Latest news with #OF201
Metro
2 days ago
- Science
- Metro
Twist in search for mysterious 'Planet Nine' in the dark depths of our solar system
Scientists hunting for Planet Nine, an elusive planetary body that could change our understanding of the solar system, have found something. Planet X is a hypothetical planet seven times the mass of Earth tucked just behind Pluto. Despite possibly being the fifth most massive planet, scientists have never tracked the white whale of astronomy down – that is, if it even exists. But a trio of American scientists trying to find the elusive gas giant have discovered a new planet… of sorts, a dwarf planet called 2017 OF201. According to a study, which has not been peer-reviewed, 2017 OF201 is roughly 430 miles across, three times smaller than Pluto. The object is an extreme trans-Neptunian object (eTNO), a minor planet that orbits the Sun far beyond Neptune. So far away, in fact, OF201 would take 25,000 Earth years to complete a solar lap. Its orbit even swings out into the Oort Cloud – a sphere of icy comets a trillion miles from the Sun. OF201 can only be observed from Earth 0.5% of the time, making its closest approach to us in 1930 and won't do so again until 26,186. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center added 2017 OF201 to its database last week. Five other dwarf planets are officially recognised: Pluto, Eris, Ceres and two others beyond Neptune, Haumea and Makemake. The search for a ninth planet in our solar system has been going on for a century. The evidence for it that hunters have long clung to is how six objects – dwarf planets and chunks of ice – have been discovered in the vastly empty outskirts of the solar system. Bizarrely, they huddle together as they orbit, as if something a gassy behemoth of a planet were shepherding them, said Imo Bell, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. They told Metro: 'Some astronomers believe that proving the existence of this planet would explain the behaviour of many other eTNOs with highly elliptical orbits clustered on one side of the Sun. 'It's thought that Planet Nine, with a mass of about five Earths, would explain the confined orbits of these eTNOs.' Sihao Cheng of New Jersey's Institute for Advanced Study and Princeton University graduate students, Jiaxuan Li and Eritas Yang, discovered 2017 OF201. They did so by combing through an archive of images of the outskirts of the solar system, taken by the Blanco telescope in Chile, as well as by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii. Over time, they realised that tiny dots in the images were a single dwarf planet-sized rock with a wide and eccentric orbit. Yang said: 'It must have experienced close encounters with a giant planet, causing it to be ejected to a wide orbit.' Yet the discovery isn't exactly what the team had hoped for, explained Bell, as it's not part of the pack of eTNOs that imply Planet Nine exists. They said: 'The discovery of 2017 OF201 is significant because it's found in a region of the Solar System thought to be empty, and it's presence points to the existence of other similar eTNOs with orbits that challenge ideas about Planet Nine as they are not clustered in the way that has been seen with other eTNOs.' Yang's simulations only considered one proposed orbit of Planet Nine, meaning that the findings don't disprove the planet's existence altogether. Cheng hasn't lost hope, saying that the existence of 2017 OF201 suggests there 'could be another hundred or so other objects with similar orbit and size'. 'They are just too far away to be detectable now,' he added. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Saturn in Aries for the first time since 1999 will impact these five star signs most MORE: Nasa warns of huge solar flares that could cause blackouts on Earth MORE: Here's the best spots to see the Northern Lights tonight
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Planet nine stays hidden, but the solar system has a new mystery guest
Astronomers have discovered a new dwarf planet far beyond Neptune . Named 2017 OF201 , the object measures roughly 700 kilometres across and lies three times farther from Earth than Neptune. Its elongated orbit swings out over 1,600 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, taking it deep into the Oort cloud—a distant shell of icy objects surrounding the solar system. The new find comes from a US-based research team that had been searching for the mysterious Planet Nine. While they didn't locate the long-theorised giant planet, their work led to the unexpected discovery of 2017 OF201. What makes 2017 OF201 different According to lead author Sihao Cheng of the Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey, the orbit of this object spans 25,000 years. During that time, it is visible from Earth for only around 0.5 percent of its orbit—about one century. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Fix Grammatical Errors and Typos With this Desktop App Grammarly Install Now Undo 'It's already getting fainter and fainter,' Cheng said. Despite being three times smaller than Pluto, the object is likely large enough to qualify as a dwarf planet. Pluto itself, once considered the ninth planet, was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Live Events Amateur astronomer Sam Deen , aged 23, independently traced 2017 OF201 using archival data. 'OF201 is, in my opinion, probably one of the most interesting discoveries in the outer solar system in the last decade,' he said. A challenge to the Planet Nine theory The theory of Planet Nine originated from observations that icy objects in the Kuiper Belt tend to move in clustered orbits. Scientists suggested this pattern might be caused by the gravitational pull of an undiscovered planet, possibly up to 10 times the size of Earth. However, 2017 OF201 does not follow the clustered pattern seen in those earlier discoveries. This raises questions about whether the clustering is really due to an unseen planet. Cheng acknowledged this, saying the object's orbit could 'pose a problem for the Planet Nine theory ,' though he added that more data is required before drawing firm conclusions. Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina in Canada, described the find as a 'great discovery' and added that it weakens the original argument for Planet Nine. 'The original argument for Planet Nine is getting weaker and weaker,' she said. Despite the doubts, Cheng remains hopeful. 'We're in an era when big telescopes can see almost to the edge of the universe,' he said. 'But what is in our backyard still largely remains unknown.' The researchers are now requesting time on high-powered observatories , including the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble, to study the object further. Meanwhile, astronomers are also looking ahead to the Vera Rubin Observatory , due to become operational in Chile this year. Deen is optimistic. 'With Vera Rubin on the horizon I don't think we'll have to wonder about its existence for much longer,' he said.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
A new kid in our solar system? Hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers a surprise
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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers up a surprise
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, the researchers have calculated. Named 2017 OF201, the new object is roughly 700 kilometres (430 miles) across according to a preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed, 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 told AFP. - Distant traveller - The object is currently three times farther away from Earth than Neptune. And its extremely elongated orbit swings out more than 1,600 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, taking it into the ring of icy rocks around the solar system called the 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 percent 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, Cheng said. After taking a risk spending more than half a year sorting through a difficult dataset in search of Planet Nine, Cheng said he was "lucky" to have found anything at all. The researchers are requesting time to point the James Webb, Hubble and ALMA telescopes at their discovery. But Sam Deen, a 23-year-old amateur astronomer from California, has already been able to track the dwarf planet candidate through old datasets. "OF201 is, in my opinion, probably one of the most interesting discoveries in the outer solar system in the last decade," Deen told AFP. - What about Planet Nine? - The icy rocks discovered in the Kuiper belt tend to have a clustered orbit going in a particular direction. Two decades ago, astronomers proposed this was due to the gravitational pull of a world up to 10 times larger than Earth, naming it Planet Nine and kicking off a debate that has rumbled since. It is also sometimes called Planet X, a name proposed for a hypothetical world beyond Neptune more than a century ago. Back in 1930, astronomers were searching for Planet X when they discovered Pluto, which became our solar system's ninth planet. But Pluto turned out to be too tiny -- it is smaller than the Moon -- and was demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006. There are now four other officially recognised dwarf planets, and Cheng believes 2017 OF201 could join their ranks. When the researchers modelled its orbit, they found it did not follow the clustered trend of similar objects. This could pose a problem for the Planet Nine theory, but Cheng emphasised more data is needed. Samantha Lawler of Canada's University of Regina told AFP that this "great discovery" and others like it mean that "the original argument for Planet Nine is getting weaker and weaker". The Vera Rubin Observatory, which is scheduled to go online in Chile this year, is expected to shed light on this mystery, one way or another. Deen said it was discouraging that no sign of Planet Nine has been found so far, but with Vera Rubin "on the horizon I don't think we'll have to wonder about its existence for much longer". For Cheng, he still hopes that this huge planet is out there somewhere. "We're in an era when big telescopes can see almost to the edge of the universe," he said. But what is in our "backyard" still largely remains unknown, he added. dl/yad/fec
France 24
3 days ago
- Science
- France 24
The hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers up a surprise
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, the researchers have calculated. Named 2017 OF201, the new object is roughly 700 kilometres (430 miles) across according to a preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed, 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 told AFP. Distant traveller The object is currently three times farther away from Earth than Neptune. And its extremely elongated orbit swings out more than 1,600 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, taking it into the ring of icy rocks around the solar system called the 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 percent 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, Cheng said. After taking a risk spending more than half a year sorting through a difficult dataset in search of Planet Nine, Cheng said he was "lucky" to have found anything at all. The researchers are requesting time to point the James Webb, Hubble and ALMA telescopes at their discovery. But Sam Deen, a 23-year-old amateur astronomer from California, has already been able to track the dwarf planet candidate through old datasets. "OF201 is, in my opinion, probably one of the most interesting discoveries in the outer solar system in the last decade," Deen told AFP. What about Planet Nine? The icy rocks discovered in the Kuiper belt tend to have a clustered orbit going in a particular direction. Two decades ago, astronomers proposed this was due to the gravitational pull of a world up to 10 times larger than Earth, naming it Planet Nine and kicking off a debate that has rumbled since. It is also sometimes called Planet X, a name proposed for a hypothetical world beyond Neptune more than a century ago. Back in 1930, astronomers were searching for Planet X when they discovered Pluto, which became our solar system's ninth planet. But Pluto turned out to be too tiny -- it is smaller than the Moon -- and was demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006. There are now four other officially recognised dwarf planets, and Cheng believes 2017 OF201 could join their ranks. When the researchers modelled its orbit, they found it did not follow the clustered trend of similar objects. This could pose a problem for the Planet Nine theory, but Cheng emphasised more data is needed. Samantha Lawler of Canada's University of Regina told AFP that this "great discovery" and others like it mean that "the original argument for Planet Nine is getting weaker and weaker". The Vera Rubin Observatory, which is scheduled to go online in Chile this year, is expected to shed light on this mystery, one way or another. Deen said it was discouraging that no sign of Planet Nine has been found so far, but with Vera Rubin "on the horizon I don't think we'll have to wonder about its existence for much longer". For Cheng, he still hopes that this huge planet is out there somewhere. "We're in an era when big telescopes can see almost to the edge of the universe," he said. But what is in our "backyard" still largely remains unknown, he added.
