Hypothetical astronomical object

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Hypothetical planetary object)
Jump to: navigation, search
Artist's concept of Earth, orbited by a hypothetical second moon.
31 Crateris, a possible eclipsing binary initially mistaken for a moon of Mercury.
Artist's conception of HD 209458 b, a hypothetical Chthonian planet, transiting its star.
Artist's conception of a Jupiter-size rogue planet.

A hypothetical astronomical object is an astronomical object (such as a star, planet or moon) that is believed or speculated to exist or to have existed but whose existence has not been scientifically proven. Such objects have been hypothesized throughout recorded history. For example, in the 5th century BCE, the philosopher Philolaus "defined a hypothetical astronomical object which he called the Central Fire", around which he proposed other celestial bodies (including the Sun) moved.[1]

Types of hypothetical astronomical objects[edit]

Hypothetical astronomical objects have been speculated to exist both inside and outside of the Solar System, and speculation has included different kinds of stars, planets, and other astronomical objects.


  1. ^ Marco Ceccarelli, Distinguished Figures in Mechanism and Machine Science (2007), p. 124.