A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger Hypothesis
The existence of a hypothetical Planet Nine lurking in the outer solar system has been invoked as a plausible explanation for the anomalous clustering in the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects. Here we propose that some meteoroids arriving at Earth could serve as messengers with the potential of reve...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb817 |
| _version_ | 1797701989134499840 |
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| author | Hector Socas-Navarro |
| author_facet | Hector Socas-Navarro |
| author_sort | Hector Socas-Navarro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The existence of a hypothetical Planet Nine lurking in the outer solar system has been invoked as a plausible explanation for the anomalous clustering in the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects. Here we propose that some meteoroids arriving at Earth could serve as messengers with the potential of revealing the presence of a hitherto undiscovered massive object. The peculiar meteor CNEOS 2014-01-08 recently put forward as the first interstellar meteor, might be one such messenger. The meteor radiant is in the maximum probability region calculated for the Planet Nine location in previous works. The odds of this coincidence being due to chance are ∼1%. Furthermore, some statistical anomalies about CNEOS 2014-01-08 are resolved under the hypothesis that it was flung at Earth by a gravitational encounter. Integrating its trajectory backwards in time would then lead to the region of the sky where Planet Nine is more likely to reside. Based on the available data, we propose the region at coordinates R.A. 53.°0 ± 4.°3, decl. 9.°2 ± 1.°3 as a plausible candidate location for Planet Nine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:44:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-194b519ae18e45949604628b99f49783 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:44:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-194b519ae18e45949604628b99f497832023-09-03T09:29:45ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-0194512210.3847/1538-4357/acb817A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger HypothesisHector Socas-Navarro0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9896-4622Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias , Vía Láctea S/N, La Laguna E-38205, Tenerife, Spain ; hsocas@iac.es; Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna , E-38205, Tenerife, SpainThe existence of a hypothetical Planet Nine lurking in the outer solar system has been invoked as a plausible explanation for the anomalous clustering in the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects. Here we propose that some meteoroids arriving at Earth could serve as messengers with the potential of revealing the presence of a hitherto undiscovered massive object. The peculiar meteor CNEOS 2014-01-08 recently put forward as the first interstellar meteor, might be one such messenger. The meteor radiant is in the maximum probability region calculated for the Planet Nine location in previous works. The odds of this coincidence being due to chance are ∼1%. Furthermore, some statistical anomalies about CNEOS 2014-01-08 are resolved under the hypothesis that it was flung at Earth by a gravitational encounter. Integrating its trajectory backwards in time would then lead to the region of the sky where Planet Nine is more likely to reside. Based on the available data, we propose the region at coordinates R.A. 53.°0 ± 4.°3, decl. 9.°2 ± 1.°3 as a plausible candidate location for Planet Nine.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb817Small Solar System bodiesSolar system planetsMeteor radiantsMeteoroidsMeteorsBolides |
| spellingShingle | Hector Socas-Navarro A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger Hypothesis The Astrophysical Journal Small Solar System bodies Solar system planets Meteor radiants Meteoroids Meteors Bolides |
| title | A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger Hypothesis |
| title_full | A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger Hypothesis |
| title_fullStr | A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger Hypothesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger Hypothesis |
| title_short | A Candidate Location for Planet Nine from an Interstellar Meteoroid: The Messenger Hypothesis |
| title_sort | candidate location for planet nine from an interstellar meteoroid the messenger hypothesis |
| topic | Small Solar System bodies Solar system planets Meteor radiants Meteoroids Meteors Bolides |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb817 |
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