Perspectives on effectively constraining the location of a massive trans-Plutonian object with the New Horizons spacecraft: a sensitivity analysis

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

2014

Self Cite

The recent discovery of the Sedna-like dwarf planet 2012 VP 113 by Trujillo and Sheppard has revamped the old-fashioned hypothesis that a still unseen trans-Plutonian object of planetary size, variously dubbed over the years as Planet X, Tyche, Thelisto, may lurk in the distant peripheries of the Solar System. This time, the presence of a super-Earth with mass m X = 2 − 15m ⊕ at a distance d X ≈ 200 − 300 astronomical units (AU) was proposed to explain the observed clustering of the arguments of perihelion ω near ω ≈ 0 • but not ω ≈ 180 • for Sedna, 2012 VP 113 and other minor bodies of the Solar System with perihelion distances q > 30 AU and semimajor axes a > 150 AU. Actually, such a scenario is strongly disfavored by the latest constraints ∆̟ on the anomalous perihelion precessions of some Solar System's planets obtained with the INPOP and EPM ephemerides. Indeed, they yield d X 496 − 570 AU (m X = 2m ⊕ ), and d X 970 − 1111 AU (m X = 15m ⊕ ). Much tighter constraints could be obtained in the near future from the New Horizons mission to Pluto.

Section: Updated Constraints From the Planetary Perihelion Precessionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Updated Constraints From the Planetary Perihelion Precessionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Planet X revamped after the discovery of the Sedna-like object 2012 VP113?

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

2014

Self Cite

“…56 Interestingly, a direct connection between the search for (allegedly baryonic) dark matter in our Solar system in the form of one or more trans-Plutonian planets and MOND recently arose. [57][58][59] Indeed, a certain version 60 of the so-called External Field Effect (EFE) characterizing within MOND the dynamics of a gravitationally bound system immersed in an external gravitational field can induce anomalous orbital effects 61,62 which mimics the action of a still undiscovered Planet X located in a specific position in the sky. [57][58][59] Latest developments in MOND 63 predict peculiar signatures even in absence of EFE which could be put to the test in the deep Newtonian regime characterizing our Solar system by looking for anomalies in orbital motions of its major bodies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gravitational anomalies in the solar system?

2015

Int. J. Mod. Phys. D

100

Mindful of the anomalous perihelion precession of Mercury discovered by U. Le Verrier in the second half of the nineteenth century and its successful explanation by A. Einstein with his General Theory of Relativity in the early years of the twentieth century, discrepancies among observed effects in our Solar system and their theoretical predictions on the basis of the currently accepted laws of gravitation applied to known matter-energy distributions have the potential of paving the way for remarkable advances in fundamental physics. This is particularly important now more than ever, given that most of the universe seems to be made of unknown substances dubbed Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Should this not be directly the case, Solar system's anomalies could anyhow lead to advancements in either cumulative science, as shown to us by the discovery of Neptune in the first half of the nineteenth century, and technology itself. Moreover, investigations in one of such directions can serendipitously enrich the other one as well. The current status of some alleged gravitational anomalies in the Solar system is critically reviewed. They are: a) Possible anomalous advances of planetary perihelia; b) Unexplained orbital residuals of a recently discovered moon of Uranus (Mab); c) The lingering unexplained secular increase of the eccentricity of the orbit of the Moon; d) The so-called Faint Young Sun Paradox; e) The secular decrease of the mass parameter of the Sun; f) The Flyby Anomaly; g) The Pioneer Anomaly; and h) The anomalous secular increase of the astronomical unit

Preliminary constraints on the location of the recently hypothesized new planet of the Solar System from planetary orbital dynamics

2016

Astrophys Space Sci

It has been recently proposed that the observed grouping of either the perihelia and the orbital planes of some observed distant Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) can be explained by the shepherding influence of a remote (150 au q X 350 au), still unseen massive object PX having planetary size (5 m ⊕ m X 20 m ⊕ ) and moving along an ecliptically inclined (22 deg I X 40 deg), eccentric (380 au a X 980 au) Heliocentric bound orbit located in space at 80 deg Ω X 120 deg and which is anti-aligned (120 deg ω X 160 deg) with those of the considered KBOs. The trajectory of Saturn is nowadays known at essentially the same accuracy level of the inner planets due to the telemetry of the Cassini spacecraft. Thus, the expected per-turbations̟,Ω due to PX on the Kronian apsidal and draconitic orbital motions are theoretically investigated to tentatively constrain the configuration space of PX itself. To this aim, we compare our predictions̟ theo ,Ω theo to the currently available experimental intervals of values ∆Ω obs , ∆̟ obs determined by astronomers in the recent past without explicitly modeling and solving for PX itself. As such, our results, despite being plausible and in agreement to a large extent with other constraints released in the literature, should be regarded as proof-of-principle investigations aimed to encourage more accurate analyses in future. It turns out that the admissible region in its configuration space is moderately narrow as far as its position along its orbit, reckoned by the true anomaly f X , is concerned, being concentrated around approximately 130 deg f X 240 deg. PX is certainly far from its perihelion ( f X = 0 deg), in agreement with other recent studies. The future analysis of the data from the ongoing New Horizons mission might be helpful in further constraining the scenario considered here for PX. Its impact on the spaceraft's range over a multi-year span is investigated with a preliminary sensitivity analysis.