---
title: "A Black Hole May Be Orbiting Our Sun. This Guy Wants to Find It."
description: "An astrophysicist thinks that the mysterious Planet Nine may really be a six centimeter-wide black hole. And he has a plan to finally find it."
date: "2020-05-08"
modified: "2020-05-08"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/black-hole-orbiting-sun"
categories:
  - "Astrophysics"
  - "Black Holes"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "black hole"
  - "nanospacecraft"
  - "planet nine"
  - "space"
  - "the digest"
---

# A Black Hole May Be Orbiting Our Sun. This Guy Wants to Find It.

![An astrophysicist thinks that the mysterious Planet Nine may really be a six centimeter-wide black hole. And he has a plan to finally find it.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Scientists-Idea-Spot-Black-Hole-Our-Solar-System-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ESO/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Planet-Hunting

For years, gravitational disturbances have led astronomers to speculate about a [mysterious "Planet Nine"](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/planet-nine-five-times-earths-mass.md>) that may be orbiting our Sun way out past Pluto.

Some have even suggested that it could be a tiny — but extremely heavy — black hole, trapped by the Sun's gravitational pull. And now, *[Discover Magazine ](<https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/if-planet-9-is-a-black-hole-this-is-how-to-find-it>)*[reports](<https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/if-planet-9-is-a-black-hole-this-is-how-to-find-it>), a physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study named Ed Witten has a plan to find it.

## Teeny Armada

But if there is a black hole orbiting the Sun, it would be almost impossible to find: a black hole with the mass attributed to Planet Nine would only be about five centimeters wide, *Discover* reports.

Instead of trying to spot it directly, Witten suggests dispatching a gigantic fleet of tiny spacecraft. If one of them gets dragged off-course by an unexpected force, Witten says that would be a sign of the black hole's gravitational pull.

## Go Forth

Unfortunately, these nanospacecraft don't exist yet — though researchers have long hoped to develop tiny vehicles that they could blast into the cosmos, propelled by [powerful terrestrial lasers](<https://futurism.com/could-humans-ever-really-reach-alien-stars.md>).

"If further study of the Kuiper Belt strengthens the case for existence of Planet Nine, but discovery via telescopic searches or a dark matter annihilation signal does not follow," Witten told *Discover*, "then a direct search by a fleet of miniature spacecraft may become compelling."

**READ MORE:** [If Planet Nine Is a Tiny Black Hole, This Is How to Find It](<https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/if-planet-9-is-a-black-hole-this-is-how-to-find-it>) \[*Discover Magazine*\]

**More on Planet Nine:** *[Scientists Discover 139 New “Minor Planets” in Our Solar System](<https://futurism.com/scientists-discover-139-new-minor-planets-solar-system.md>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)

## More

- [Astronomers Want to Figure Out What the Hell Planet Nine Is Once and For All](<https://futurism.com/astronomers-want-to-figure-out-what-the-hell-planet-nine-is-once-and-for-all.md>)
- [Astrophysicists: There May Be Black Holes Orbiting Our Sun](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/astrophysicists-black-holes-sun.md>)
- [Astronomers Say That Planets Orbiting Black Holes Are Called “Blanets”](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/planets-orbiting-black-holes-blanets.md>)
- [Astronomers Discover Closest-Ever Black Hole to Earth](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-discover-closest-ever-black-hole-earth.md>)
- [Scientists May Have Accidentally Spotted an Extra Planet in Our Solar System](<https://futurism.com/scientists-maybe-spotted-extra-planet.md>)
- [NASA Scientist Ponders Life on Planets Orbiting Black Holes](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-scientist-life-planets-black-holes.md>)
- [Scientists Discover Enormous Black Hole Right Near Our Galaxy](<https://futurism.com/scientists-black-hole-near-galaxy.md>)
- [New Paper Asserts that Life Could Survive on a Planet Orbiting a Black Hole](<https://futurism.com/new-paper-asserts-that-life-could-survive-on-a-planet-orbiting-a-black-hole.md>)