A study published last week proposes that dark matter may be responsible for the wobbles observed in Mars’ orbit.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Physical Review, posits the theory that dark matter invades microscopic, or primordial, black holes.
Unlike astrophysical black holes, these primordial black holes were formed in the seconds after the Big Bang when dense pockets of gas collapsed and were scattered throughout the universe by expansion.
Although these primordial black holes are as small as atoms, they are heavier than several thousand solar masses and are thought to constitute dark matter.
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Mars panoramic view (NASA)
First theorized by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in the 1930s, dark matter is a type of matter that cannot be detected by the human eye. Although it does not emit light or energy, it accounts for about a quarter of the mass of the universe. Researchers propose its existence based on its gravitational pull on other visible matter.


Although it cannot be detected with the naked eye, dark matter is thought to make up about a quarter of the universe. (NASA)
A new study, “Close Encounters of Primordial Species,” theorizes that dark matter, made up of primordial black holes, slightly pushes Mars’ orbit out of orbit due to its extreme mass.
The researchers, a group of MIT physicists, backed up their theory by simulating Mars’ orbit along the lines of their proposal.
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The researchers theorized that these primordial black holes would cause a wobble in Mars’ orbit at least once every decade while zooming through the solar system.


This image released by NASA shows NASA’s Perseverance rover safely landing on Mars. (Xinhua/NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology via Getty Images)
Astronomers are now able to detect such wobbles thanks to advances in telemetry and measuring the distances between planets.
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“We’re taking advantage of this highly instrumented region of space to look for small effects,” said co-author and physics professor David Kaiser. “If we could see that, that would be a real reason to keep pursuing this fun idea that all dark matter is made up of black holes that were created within a second after the Big Bang and have been flowing through the universe for 14 billion years.” For years. ”