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Scientists, telescope hunt massive hidden object in space
You know how you sometimes can sense that something is present even though you can't see it? Well, astronomers are getting that feeling about a giant, hidden object in space. And when we say giant, we mean GIANT. Evidence is mounting that either a brown dwarf star or a gas giant planet is lurking at the outermost reaches of our solar system , far beyond Pluto. The theoretical object, dubbed Tyche, is estimated to be four times the size of Jupiter and 15,000 times farther from the sun than Earth, according to a story in the British paper The Independent. Astrophysicists John Matese and Daniel Whitmire from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette think data from NASA's infrared space telescope WISE will confirm Tyche's existence and location within two years.
Will NASA Settle Debate Over Existence of Giant Planet 'Tyche'? | Outer Solar System, Extreme Planet Facts | Tyche & Nemesis | LiveScience
In 1999, a team of astronomers proposed that a gigantic planet — perhaps four times the mass of Jupiter — could be lurking unseen in the Oort cloud, a repository for icy bodies at the edge of the solar system. The researchers said the presence of this hypothetical planet could explain the unusual orbital paths taken by some comets from the Oort cloud. The planet, which they named Tyche, could have escaped detection to this point by being so far away — perhaps 30,000 times farther from the sun than Earth is — and so cold. Many other astronomers were not convinced, and the debate over Tyche's existence has continued.