Latest news with #OortCloud
News18
4 days ago
- Science
- News18
Astronomers May Have Found New Dwarf Planet And It's Casting Doubt On Planet Nine Theory
Last Updated: Spotted beyond Neptune, the newly identified object follows an odd path through space, one that complicates a decades-old theory about a giant planet lurking in the dark A Surprise In The Hunt For Planet Nine In the vast, dark outskirts of our solar system, astronomers have long speculated about the existence of a massive, hidden world—Planet Nine—lurking beyond Neptune's orbit. But while chasing this elusive celestial body, a team of US-based astronomers has instead discovered what could be a new dwarf planet. Named 2017 OF201, the newly identified object is estimated to be around 700 kilometres wide—roughly a third the size of Pluto—according to a preprint study published online last week. Though not yet peer-reviewed, the finding is already raising fresh questions about the Planet Nine hypothesis. Extreme Orbit In The Oort Cloud The object is currently more than three times farther from Earth than Neptune. Its highly elongated orbit stretches over 1,600 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun—taking it deep into the icy ring of debris known as the Oort Cloud. 'It's already getting fainter and fainter," said lead author Sihao Cheng of the Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey, speaking to AFP. The object completes one full orbit around the Sun in about 25,000 years and is only visible from Earth for about 0.5 per cent of that time—roughly a century. Cheng believes its discovery suggests 'there are many hundreds of similar things on similar orbits" in the Kuiper Belt, the region beyond Neptune populated by icy bodies. Tracked Through Old Data Despite the fading visibility, the object has already been tracked independently by Sam Deen, a 23-year-old amateur astronomer from California, who located 2017 OF201 in older datasets. 'OF201 is probably one of the most interesting discoveries in the outer solar system in the last decade," Deen told AFP. Cheng and his team are now seeking observation time with major facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and ALMA to study the object further. He called the find 'lucky", especially after more than six months of combing through difficult data in the search for Planet Nine. Challenging The Planet Nine Theory Around two decades ago, astronomers noted that some icy rocks in the Kuiper Belt appeared to have clustered orbits, suggesting the influence of a massive unseen object. This gave rise to the theory of Planet Nine—also known as Planet X, a name dating back more than a century. The theory gained traction due to the unusual alignment of these distant objects, thought to be shaped by the gravitational pull of a planet up to ten times the size of Earth. However, when Cheng's team modelled 2017 OF201's orbit, they found it did not follow the expected clustering trend. This could pose a challenge to the Planet Nine hypothesis. Astronomer Samantha Lawler of the University of Regina in Canada told AFP that this 'great discovery" is yet another example that 'the original argument for Planet Nine is getting weaker and weaker". The Vera Rubin Telescope May Hold Answers The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, expected to begin operations later this year, is likely to provide crucial data. Its deep-sky surveys may confirm or debunk the existence of Planet Nine once and for all. Deen said it is discouraging that no trace 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." Still Hope For A Hidden Giant Despite the complications raised by the discovery of 2017 OF201, Cheng remains hopeful that a massive planet could still be hiding in the solar system's far reaches. '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." With inputs from AFP.
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Search for elusive "Planet Nine" takes surprising twist, astronomers say
It's an evocative idea that has long bedeviled 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 U.S.-based trio hunting the 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 the new kid on the block could challenge the Planet Nine theory, the researchers have calculated. Named 2017 OF201, the new object is roughly 430 miles across, according to a preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed and was published online last week. That makes it three times smaller than Pluto. An extraordinary dwarf planet discovered at the edge of our solar system @the_IAS — Tech Explorist (@TechExplorist) May 24, 2025 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. "Lucky" discovery The object is currently three times farther away from Earth than Neptune. 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. Artist rendering of what Planet Nine might look like CBS News 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. "See almost to the edge of the universe" 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 recognized dwarf planets, and Cheng believes 2017 OF201 could join their ranks. When the researchers modeled 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 emphasized 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. Cheng made the discovery alongside colleagues Jiaxuan Li and Eritas Yang from Princeton University, and Li said the newly found object demonstrates the power of open science. "All the data we used to identify and characterize this object are archival data that are available to anyone, not only professional astronomers," Li said in a statement. "This means that groundbreaking discoveries aren't limited to those with access to the world's largest telescopes. Any researcher, student, or even citizen scientist with the right tools and knowledge could have made this discovery, highlighting the value of sharing scientific resources." The new discovery was officially announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center on May 21.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
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.
