Related papers: The Brute-Force Search for Planet Nine
Stellar spots may in some cases produce radial velocity (RV) signatures similar to those of exoplanets. To further investigate the impact of spots, we aim at studying the detectability of Earth mass planets in the habitable zone (HZ) of…
Detecting gravitational waves above 100 kHz would constitute a major discovery, as any observable signal would have to arise from new physics within the late universe. Although many technologies have been identified to explore this…
Based on the recent finding that the difference in proper time of two clocks in prograde and retrograde equatorial orbits about the Earth is of the order 10^{-7}s per revolution, the possibility of detecting the terrestrial gravitomagnetic…
We suggest that a satellite with a stable atomic clock on board be sent through the Earth-Sun gravitational saddle point to experimentally determine whether Nature prefers static solutions of the field equations of General Relativity, such…
Gravitational microlensing finds planets through their gravitational influence on the light coming from a more distant background star. The presence of the planet is then inferred from the tell-tale brightness variations of the background…
Almost all SETI searches to date have explicitly targeted stars in the hope of detecting artificial radio or optical transmissions. It is argued that extra-terrestrials (ET) might regard sending physical probes to our own Solar System as a…
We discuss the feasibility of and present initial designs and approximate cost estimates for a large ($N\sim2000$) network of small photometric telescopes that is purpose-built to monitor $V \lesssim 15$ Gaia Mission program stars for…
Gravitational lensing is the deflection of light rays due to the gravity of intervening masses. This phenomenon is observed in a variety of scales and configurations, involving any non-uniform mass such as planets, stars, galaxies, clusters…
We analytically and numerically investigate the possibility that a still undiscovered body X, moving along an unbound hyperbolic path from outside the solar system, may penetrate its inner regions in the next few years posing a threat to…
The study of planets beyond the solar system and the search for other habitable planets and life is just beginning. Ground-based (radial velocity and transits) and space-based surveys (transits and astrometry) will identify planets spanning…
The Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST) will observe a 2 square degree field in the Galactic bulge to search for extra-solar planets using a gravitational lensing technique. This gravitational lensing technique is the only method…
The observational census of trans-Neptunian objects with semi-major axes greater than ~250 AU exhibits unexpected orbital structure that is most readily attributed to gravitational perturbations induced by a yet-undetected, massive planet.…
The orbital element distribution of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with large pericenters has been suggested to be influenced by the presence of an undetected, large planet at >200 AU from the Sun. To find additional observables caused by…
We investigate the utility of a constellation of four satellites in heliocentric orbit, equipped with accurate means to measure intersatellite ranges, round-trip times and phases of signals coherently retransmitted between members of the…
Orbit determination of spacecraft in orbit has been mostly dependent on either GNSS satellite signals or ground station telemetry. Both methods present their limitations, however: GNSS signals can only be used effectively in earth orbit,…
We present results from a new pipeline custom-designed to search for faint, undiscovered solar system bodies using full-frame image data from the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. This pipeline removes the baseline…
The Solar System Odyssey mission uses modern-day high-precision experimental techniques to test the laws of fundamental physics which determine dynamics in the solar system. It could lead to major discoveries by using demonstrated…
A large number of cosmological studies now suggest that roughly two-thirds of the critical energy density of the Universe exists in a component with negative pressure. If the equation of state of such an energy component varies with time,…
Two planetary mass objects in the far outer Solar System --- collectively referred to here as Planet X --- have recently been hypothesized to explain the orbital distribution of distant Kuiper Belt Objects. Neither planet is thought to be…
The anomalous orbits of Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) can be explained by the Planet 9 hypothesis. We propose that the Planet 9 can be an axion star. Axion stars are gravitational bound clusters condensed by QCD axions or axion-like…