Is there a SUPER EARTH on the edge of our solar system?
Controversial study says there may be a mega-planet orbiting our sun
Astronomers believe they have discovered two of the most distant objects ever found in our solar system.
One of the objects, they say, could be a 'Super Earth' located six times farther away than Pluto. Using the Alma telescope, researchers from Sweden and Mexico noticed mysterious objects crossing their field of view as part of separate studies.
It's difficult to tell exactly how far away these objects are, but their speed and brightness suggest that they are unlikely to be stars. Astronomers believe they have discovered two of the most distant objects ever found in our solar system. One of the objects, they say, could be a 'Super Earth' located six times farther away than Pluto.
The studies have already drawn scepticism from other astronomers who say they are likely to be something known as super-cool brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs are cosmic bodies that never burn fusion at their core. Scientists sometimes refer to them as 'failed stars.'
While the latest studies do not rule out this possibility, they add that both objects may be a good candidate for 'Planet X'. This is a theoretical world that, if it existed, could explain some anomalies in the orbits of planets such as Neptune and Uranus. Wouter Vlemmings, an astronomer at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, is co-author on both studies.
While the latest studies do not rule out this possibility, they add that both objects may be a good candidate for 'Planet X'. This is a theoretical world that, if it existed, could explain some anomalies in the orbits of planets such as Neptune and Uranus. Wouter Vlemmings, an astronomer at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, is co-author on both studies.
Shown here is a picture of Alpha Centauri captured by Wise.
The studies were looking at a distant star called W Aquilae (or W Aql), and the nearby star Alpha Centauri.
In the W Aql study, the astronomers saw a strange object in March 2014 and then in April. They claim it is likely just one object seen twice, but seen on the fringes of our solar system, according to a report in Gizmodo.
'Until the nature of the source becomes clear, we have named it Gna,' write the authors in the study. 'Unless there are yet unknown, but significant, issues with ALMA observations, we have detected a previously unknown objects [sic] in our solar system.
Estimates place the object, dubbed Gna, to be between 12 to 25 AU. One AU describes the average distance of Earth to the Sun), or about 93 million miles. They estimate its size is about 220 to 880 km (136 to 545 miles) if it's gravitationally bound. If it's unbound it could 'much larger, planet-sized object' located within 4,000 AU, or by some estimates 61,900 AU away.
The second study found an unnamed object that appears near the star system Alpha Centauri. The researchers say it could be one of three things; a small Trans Neptunian Object at a distance of 100 AU, a Super Earth located 300 AU away, or super-cool brown dwarf.
'Until the nature of the source becomes clear, we have named it Gna,' write the authors in the study. 'Unless there are yet unknown, but significant, issues with ALMA observations, we have detected a previously unknown objects [sic] in our solar system.
Estimates place the object, dubbed Gna, to be between 12 to 25 AU. One AU describes the average distance of Earth to the Sun), or about 93 million miles. They estimate its size is about 220 to 880 km (136 to 545 miles) if it's gravitationally bound. If it's unbound it could 'much larger, planet-sized object' located within 4,000 AU, or by some estimates 61,900 AU away.
The second study found an unnamed object that appears near the star system Alpha Centauri. The researchers say it could be one of three things; a small Trans Neptunian Object at a distance of 100 AU, a Super Earth located 300 AU away, or super-cool brown dwarf.
Research groups from Sweden and Mexico have now submitted pre-prints of two research papers to arXiv describing their find. 'Simple arguments convince us that this object cannot be an ordinary star,' the authors of one paper, uploaded on December 8, 2015, to arXiv, conclude. 'We argue that the object is most likely part of the solar system, in prograde motion, albeit at a distance too far to be detectable at other wavelengths.'
Mike Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology, isn't so sure of the conclusion.
The studies we're looking at a distant star called W Aquilae (or W Aql), and the nearby star Alpha Centauri. In the W Aql study, the astronomers saw a strange object in March 2014 and then in April. Pictured are signals from the two Alma detections on March 20 and April 14, 2014
Mike Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology isn't so sure.
'Fun fact: if it is true that Alma accidentally discovered a massive outer solar system object in its tiny tiny tiny field of view that would suggest that there are something like 200,000 Earth sized planets in the outer solar system,' he tweeted. 'Even better: I just realized that this many Earth-sized planets existing would destabilize the entire solar system and we would all die.'
Other scientists point out that studies with Nasa's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer has searched the outer solar system for large planets and come back empty handed.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Gizmodo it was a 'considerable stretch' to claim a outer solar system object had been found based on the information in the reports. Both studies have been submitted to the prestigious journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, but neither has been peer-reviewed.
'Fun fact: if it is true that Alma accidentally discovered a massive outer solar system object in its tiny tiny tiny field of view that would suggest that there are something like 200,000 Earth sized planets in the outer solar system,' he tweeted. 'Even better: I just realized that this many Earth-sized planets existing would destabilize the entire solar system and we would all die.'
Other scientists point out that studies with Nasa's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer has searched the outer solar system for large planets and come back empty handed.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Gizmodo it was a 'considerable stretch' to claim a outer solar system object had been found based on the information in the reports. Both studies have been submitted to the prestigious journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, but neither has been peer-reviewed.
Using the Alma telescope (pictured), researchers from Sweden and Mexico noticed mysterious objects crossing their field of view as part of separate studies.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3356577/Is-SUPER-EARTH-edge-solar-Scientists-say-mega-planet-orbiting-sun.html
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