Planet X, an often-sought 10th planet, is so far a no-show, but Dr. Sukanya Chakrabarti has evidence for finding what might be called Galaxy X - a dwarf galaxy that she predicts orbits our Milky Way Galaxy, reports the BBC.
Chakrabarti, a post doctoral fellow and theoretical astronomer at UC Berkeley has developed a mathematical formula that she says can identify and measure small, “dark” satellite galaxies orbiting larger galactic disks, and she thinks she’s found an undetected one just on the other side of the Milky Way from Earth, obscured from our view by the dust and gas in the galaxy, describes Popular Science.
This month, a request is being put in for observing time on the infrared-sensitive Spitzer Space Telescope, as part of its GLIMPSE survey. If the request is approved, Chakrabarti should find out sometime this year whether their bet has paid off. The payoff could be big: If Galaxy X is found, its existence could explain a curious discrepancy in the current theoretical model for dark matter distribution in the universe, writes Alan Boyle for the MSNBC Cosmic Log.
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