Primordial black holes are considered a likely component of dark matter, yet several mass ranges remain unexplored by existing cosmological methods. This work proposes two novel approaches to search for such objects within the Solar System, leveraging the unique precision of local measurements. It is shown that primordial black holes with masses from asteroid to dwarf planet scales can produce dipole timing shifts in pulsar timing array data. Planet-mass objects can generate observable accretion flares in the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) regime when interacting with Kuiper Belt bodies. These complementary strategies open a new observational chapter for mass ranges previously inaccessible to standard techniques.
The universe is full of invisible mass—dark matter. One hypothesis: it's made of tiny black holes born in the Big Bang. With the mass of an asteroid and smaller than an atom, they slip through planets unnoticed. Stephen Hawking back in the 1970s suggested such holes could explode, but they've never been seen.
Now astronomers have figured out how to track them down. Flying past a pulsar—a cosmic lighthouse with a perfectly steady rhythm of radio pulses—such a hole would gravitationally disturb its 'ticking'. A network of gravitational wave detectors would pick up this glitch. The second trail: a collision with an icy body beyond Neptune's orbit. The impact would heat gas to a glow, flashing for a split second brighter than the full Moon, like a signal bonfire.
These methods for the first time allow us to catch dark matter right in the Solar System, turning an invisible phantom into prey.
🎯 A black hole with the mass of an asteroid is compressed to smaller than an atomic nucleus—it would pierce through Earth without touching a single atom.
🎬 In Larry Niven's story 'The Hole Man', a microscopic black hole falls on Mars—much like in the real hunt for hidden things.