[2004.14192] Searching for a Black Hole in the Outer Solar System

[2004.14192] Searching for a Black Hole in the Outer Solar System

A brute-force search for ‘Planet X’

Is there a ninth planet in the Solar System (or a tenth, for those who still refuse to accept Pluto’s demotion)? String-theory guru Edward Witten has suggested shooting tiny spacecraft into the outer Solar System to find it, and another team has proposed a slightly different technique. Astronomers have previously seen hints of the planet — orbiting some 500 times further from the Sun than Earth is. Some have speculated that it could be a small black hole, but even the latest proposals would not be able to establish exactly what it is.

Physics World | 6 min readSource: arXiv preprint 1 and preprint 2