Is 'Planet Nine' actually a grapefruit-sized black hole? Big new telescope could find out

space,com ^ | 07/11/2020

[BenLurkin]

Over the past few years, researchers have noticed an odd clustering in the orbits of multiple trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), which dwell in the dark depths of the far outer solar system. Some scientists have hypothesized that the TNOs' paths have been sculpted by the gravitational pull of a big object way out there, something five to 10 times more massive than Earth (though others think the TNOs may just be tugging on each other).

This big "perturber," if it exists, may be a planet — the so-called "Planet Nine," or "Planet X" or "Planet Next" for those who will always regard Pluto as the ninth planet. But there's another possibility as well: The shepherding object may be a black hole, one that crams all that mass into a sphere the size of a grapefruit.

The highly anticipated Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a big telescope under construction in the Chilean Andes, is scheduled to begin a wide-ranging, decade-long survey of the southern sky called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) in late 2022.

The Rubin Observatory will be incredibly sensitive and scan large swaths of sky repeatedly, a combination that will provide an unprecedented wealth of data, scientists have said. For example, LSST data will allow astronomers to probe the nature of mysterious dark energy and dark matter, find and track large numbers of potentially hazardous asteroids and study our Milky Way galaxy's formation and evolution, among other things.

The LSST observing program will also be able to spot a potential black-hole signature, the new study reports — "accretion flares" that result when black holes gobble up comets or other small objects.

[normbal]

ALL Matter Matters.

Whatsamatter? I say something wrong?

[TalBlack]

Until her death in 2016, Rubin was frequently listed as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in physics.

Man, THAT had to to get annoying...

[mjp]

black holes be raysis

[BenLurkin]

[Disambiguator]

“Planet 9 from outer space” seems redundant. Of course it is! (From outer space)

[dangus]

Wait... wouldn’t a 5-earth mass black hole be a hell of a lot smaller than a grapefruit? At that size, you ought to be able to send a probe into it and have it not get spaghettified.

[Oil Object Insp]

Planet 9 = Pluto.
Planet X= planet 10

If it’s a hole, that’s the opposite if a planet, right?

That’s what happens when “scientists” get together and decide consensus instead of science.

The sad part is that much of the funding comes from tax dollars.

[John Milner]

So, a ruby red, or one of those regular, kind of yellowish ones?

[kaehurowing]

Hey I saw the movie!!

[SuperLuminal]

My biggest worry, in this particular matter, is a black-hole-sized grapefruit...

[mowowie]

I really liked that show.
Still pissed that it got cancelled.
miss those guys...

[Verginius Rufus]

When the seventh planet was discovered in 1781, Herschel wanted to name it after King George III, whereas others wanted to call in Herschel.

Is Planet X named for Malcolm X?

[SunkenCiv]

Over the past few years, researchers have noticed an odd clustering in the orbits of multiple trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), which dwell in the dark depths of the far outer solar system. Some scientists have hypothesized that the TNOs' paths have been sculpted by the gravitational pull of a big object way out there, something five to 10 times more massive than Earth (though others think the TNOs may just be tugging on each other).

Thanks BenLurkin.

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[SunkenCiv]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/johnmatese/index

[SunkenCiv]

• CNN’s Don Lemon: ‘Is It Preposterous’ to Think a Black Hole Caused Flight 370 to Go Missing? [03/19/2014]

the rest of the John Matese keyword:

• A star disturbed the comets of the solar system 70,000 years ago [2018]
• Planet Nine's profile fleshed out [2016]
• Newly discovered planet could destroy Earth any day now [2016]
• Mysterious planet wiped out life on Earth once and could do it again THIS MONTH [2016]
• Researcher links mass extinctions to 'Planet X' [2016]
• Scientists just found more evidence that Planet Nine exists in our Solar System [2016]
• Search Narrows For Planet Nine [2016]
• Don't Blame 'Planet Nine' for Earth's Mass Extinctions [2016]
• Researchers find evidence of a real ninth planet [2016]
• There's a ninth planet in our solar system - we just can't see it yet, study says [2016]
• Ninth Planet May Exist in Solar System Beyond Pluto, New Evidence Suggests [2016]
• Scientists may have found Planet X, the mysterious presence that has eluded astronomers [2015]
• The Chilling Regularity of Mass Extinctions [2015]
• Is there a Planet X, a 'massive perturber,' hidden beyond Pluto? [2015]
• A close call of 0.8 light years [Nibiru?] [2015]
• Star Blasted Through Solar System 70,000 Years Ago [2015]
• New Examination of Trans-Neptunian Objects Suggests Two Planets Lurk in Outer Solar System [2015]
• Astronomers are Predicting at Least Two More Large Planets in the Solar System [2015]
• Sun May Still Have Low-Mass Solar Companion, Say Astrophysicists Searching NASA WISE Mission Data [2014]
• Mystery Planet: Is a Rogue Giant Orbiting Our Sun? [2011]
• Astronomers Doubt Giant Planet 'Tyche' Exists In Our Solar System [2011]
• Largest planet in the solar system could be about to be discovered (4x Jupiter) [2011]
• Giant Stealth Planet May Explain Rain of Comets from Solar System's Edge [2010]
• Life on Earth wiped out every 27 million years (16 million years until the next one) [2010]
• Search on for Death Star that throws out deadly comets.. [2010]
• Six Mysteries of Our Solar System: Its history raises a lot of questions [2009]
• Earth-sized planet predicted beyond Pluto [2008]
• An Unknown Planet Orbits in the Outer Solar System [2007]
• Mass limit on Nemesis [2006]
• Far-out worlds, just waiting to be found [2005]
• Does the Sun Have a Doomsday Twin? [2002]

[BenLurkin]

...

[mowowie]

Yea i really liked both The Android and Three.
That was a pretty good show for what i imagine was a fraction of the cost of ST:Discovery and 100X more enjoyable.

[Svartalfiar]

Wait... wouldn’t a 5-earth mass black hole be a hell of a lot smaller than a grapefruit? At that size, you ought to be able to send a probe into it and have it not get spaghettified.

Definitely a lot smaller, though just about everything with black holes is theoretical. Can such little mass even create a black hole? Gravity isn't strong enough to pull such little mass close enough together to have enough gravity over the small space to be a black hole (I think). But, if it did, it would have to be extremely small, much smaller than a grapefruit.