Could 'Planet X' Still be Lurking Out There?

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By Nola Taylor Redd
Space.com
3-28-14

     The hunt for the hypothetical "Planet X" has been fruitless so far, but that doesn't mean astronomers are calling it off.

A new analysis of data collected by NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft revealed no sign of the mysterious Planet X hypothesized to exist in the outer solar system. But scientists are keeping up the search for a planet or dim star far from the sun.

ANALYSIS: Is 'Planet X 2.0' Lurking Beyond Pluto's Orbit?

"I think astronomers will continue to search for a distant companion to the sun with every new, deeper survey," Kevin Luhman of the University of Pennsylvania told Space.com by email. Luhman, who studies low-mass stars and "failed stars" known as brown dwarfs, recently published the results of his search for Planet X using WISE.

"We have a natural desire to better determine the contents of our solar system," Luhman said. "There's a vast volume of space in the outer solar system, and we would like to know what's out there."

And a recent find may give a boost to the hunt for Planet X. On Wednesday (March 26), researchers announced they had discovered a dwarf planet orbiting the sun in a distant, largely unexplored region known as the inner Oort Cloud. . . .

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"Potentially Hazardous" Near Earth Object (Asteroid) Spotted By Nasa's NEOWISE Spacecraft | VIDEO

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Nasa spacecraft spots 'potentially hazardous' new asteroid

By Lucy Kinder
www.telegraph.co.uk
1-8-14

Nasa's NEOWISE spacecraft spots "potentially hazardous" never before seen asteroid

Red dots in this composite picture indicate the location of the first new near-Earth asteroid seen by NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

      Nasa's newly reactivated asteroid hunting space telescope has spotted its first potentially hazardous space rock.

The new asteroid is the first discovery by the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) since the spacecraft came out of hibernation last year.

The rock, named 2013 YP139, is approximately 27 million miles away from Earth and is estimated to be 0.4 miles in diameter. It's infrared signature suggests the asteroid is extremely dark, like a piece of coal.

It has also been classified as a potentially hazardous near Earth object as its orbit suggests it could pose a risk. Nasa believes that the impact of an asteroid any larger than half a mile in diameter could have "worldwide effects".

The Chelyabinsk meteor which entered Earth's atmosphere over Russia last year and injured 1,500 people was only 55-65 feet in size. . . .

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