Far beyond the orbit of Neptune may be hiding unknown planet

Astronomers from Sweden and Mexico reported the first observation of a large object on the far edge of the solar system. We know about him is very little: it does not emit their own light, and may be at a distance of about 300 radius of Earth's orbit. An object can be both a planet several times larger than ours, and the brown dwarf - its orbit and mass of the unknown.

With ALMA, astronomers planned a telescope to study the Alpha Centauri system in the submillimeter range - as far as is known today, it consists of three stars. However, the 5.5 seconds of arc from the star saw a new, previously unknown source of radiation. Looking to the catalog compiled from observations of powerful cosmic infrared telescope WISE, the authors did not receive aid when WISE shot right part of the sky, a potential object passed the Alpha Centauri star system and can be invisible in their bright background.

The mysterious body time to get the name of αCen D, as a new fourth member of Alpha Centauri. However, the findings rule out that it belongs neighboring star system. For nearly a year elapsed between observing sessions (July 2014 and May 2015 gg.), ΑCen D too much shifted to the background stars A and Alpha Centauri (Rigel and Bunguly). It is also unlikely that he belongs to the Kuiper Belt, is not like a star and did not correspond to any of the nearly 800 thous. Of known objects in the solar system ... Researchers concluded that the most likely is a "trans-Neptunian objects extreme» (Extreme Trans Neptunian Object , ETNO), previously unknown, and large body rotating far beyond the orbit of Neptune.

Available observations is not enough to draw definite conclusions. However, the hypothesis of building did not forbid, and, according to the authors, the best available data corresponds to a hypothetical planet-class super-Earths. The existence on the distant edge of the solar system rocky, several times bigger than our planet Earth was supposed before: the radius of the Earth 1.5, the orbit of 300 AU Another option is no less interesting - αCen D may be even larger objects, a brown dwarf, "transitional form" between the planets and the full-fledged stars, the orbit radius of about 20 thousand. AU

However, with the sensation worth the wait. As already mentioned, the observations is totally inadequate, and they may get less exciting explanation. In the end, it may be large, but accidentally drops out of sight of astronomers asteroid flying somewhere for Jupiter.