Ancient Black Holes Shifting Earth’s Orbit Every Decade, Scientists Say

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have uncovered that primordial black holes (PBHs), formed shortly after the Big Bang nearly 12.8 billion years ago, might be influencing Earth’s orbital path. These PBHs, tiny in size but with a density akin to asteroids, pass by our solar system approximately every ten years, potentially causing perturbations in the orbits of planets and moons.

The concept of PBHs was initially proposed by astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and his PhD student Bernard Carr. They theorized that during the Big Bang’s early moments, regions with excess mass formed and eventually collapsed into black holes.

Despite these findings, ancient black holes have not been directly observed in the universe. The MIT team’s study is based on the hypothesis that the universe is filled with these PBHs, suggesting they regularly traverse near Earth’s cosmic vicinity.

To understand the potential impact of a PBH on celestial bodies within our solar system, the scientists conducted simulations. This model included all eight planets, over 1.3 million asteroids, around 300 planetary satellites such as moons, and nearly 4,000 comets, along with hypothetical rogue PBHs.

The study revealed that the orbits of planets and moons could be shifted by several feet if an object with the mass equivalent to an asteroid approached within two astronomical units of the sun. This suggests that the presence and proximity of PBHs could have a tangible effect on the movement of celestial bodies in our solar system.