Dark Nights

by Christopher A. Gray

  “Hi Doug, detected a strong signal in the UHF spectrum 30 min ago. Pattern in evidence, no repeat but very strong in proximity to Sol W hemisphere, approx +0.3 W 20 deg N, opposition. Can you verify with IR or visual? Thanks, Stan.”

  Interesting. Radio astronomy looked for distant radio-emitting objects to study, such as black holes and other phenomena. They operated passively, listening for signals across a broad spectrum. The email implied the object was very close, in solar orbit. Foley wasn’t one to send colleagues off to chase stray communication satellite signals.

  “Opposition” meant in orbit opposite to that of Earth. The coordinates were in reference to the Sun itself, meaning the object was just to the left and above the Sun’s equator, with the Sun between the object and Earth. The positioning would make finding the object difficult. Doug used a special disk to block the body of the Sun from view while leaving the surrounding corona visible. The corona was generally stable but it did periodically have variances, with coronal holes appearing a few degrees above and below the Sun’s equator. He zoomed into the area specified by Foley’s coordinates.

  As usual, Doug had a large coffee after lunch. Also as usual, it got cold before he even drank half of it because he only ever thought to take tiny sips while looking through the eyepiece. He was doing just that when he noticed a small dot through a wispy area of the corona.

  It was very small but just large enough to show as perfectly round. Stan was right enough so far. There was something unusual there. Doug was vaguely aware of the coffee in his right hand but he didn’t want to chance taking his eyes off the object. It was so faint, he thought that if he looked away he might lose it in the coronal mist.

  He extended his little finger below the cup to locate the desk and carefully put the coffee cup down without taking his eyes off the object, then reached back to the control panel so he could hit the button to snap a photo. The images were high resolution but it still might be difficult to find the object later, even when compared with an earlier photo. It would be a lot like trying to spot a golf ball at dusk, in the fog.

  Doug reached for the mouse and aligned a virtual crosshair marker just under the object. It would help him locate it should he need to momentarily look away. The marker would be present in any subsequent photographs, making it easier to determine if the object was moving over time.

  The object was fading in and out of view depending on the intensity of the corona, which verified it was behind the Sun. And the fact it wasn’t changing position meant it was large and quite far away. It could be an asteroid on a collision course with the Sun, or it could be in orbit, anywhere from closer than Mercury to the direct opposite of Earth. But the fact that it appeared perfectly round suggested it was much larger than a typical asteroid. Then again, asteroids didn’t emit radio signals, if in fact the object was the same one Foley had detected.

  He pulled out his phone and tapped a reply. “Stan, it looks like you spotted something for sure. Location Confirmed. No idea what it is yet. I’ll do what I can now, but more tomorrow.”

  Doug would have a better idea over the next day, provided he was able to spot the object again. He observed the object for a moment longer, captured a few more photos, logged everything, then returned to gathering base measurements of various solar output parameters before heading off to the university to teach his afternoon class. Whoever checked the logs might have some input about the object.

  – 5 –

  The next morning as the sun came into view Doug had all but forgotten about the object until he once again looked through the optical telescope and saw the marker still in position from the day before. Someone else on the telescope schedule had been kind enough to realign the marker. The intensity of the corona was roughly the same, so the object wasn’t immediately visible, but with a slight adjustment in focus there it was – in nearly the same position as the day before. It had moved, but only just, towards the Sun. Otherwise it appeared the same, perfectly round. In a day or two it would be too close to the Sun to be visible.

  That it was close to the same spot as it was the day before told Doug it was moving too slow to be anywhere within the orbit of Mercury. It had to be much further out, perhaps close to 1.0 AU – Earth orbit. But that also meant it would be big. Doug’s first thought was that it was at least the size of Mars, but he instantly dismissed that as nonsense. After all, how could a body the size of a planet have remained undetected? There had been enough solar probes to map virtually every object in the solar system bigger than a small comet. No significant body, even one as far away as Pluto, could remain undetected for long.

  Then again, discounting Voyager and Pioneer (which would easily have spotted such a body decades earlier), a large object in orbit exactly opposite that of Earth would be hard to spot from the ground. It might be naturally hidden from any telescope except for short periods when orbital eccentricity would make it visible, which when timed perfectly would explain why Doug could see the object now. But NASA’s pair of STEREO satellites trained on the Sun should have spotted it before. The STEREO satellites had an overlap for a wide enough field of view so that objects were visible even if they were directly behind the Sun.

  Thinking about STEREO made Doug immediately search the overnights for any notes from NASA, but there was nothing about the new object except Stan Foley’s note that he had gotten confirmation from Doug.

  A rogue body, or moon, from outside the solar system, captured into close solar orbit? Doug thought. Maybe. But with thousands of professional and amateur astronomers in the world wouldn’t someone have seen it coming?

  Doug had noted the object the previous day in the observatory’s intranet logbook. The Mauna Kea senior staff and the International Astronomical Union would be aware of the object if anyone had read the report. But with this second puzzling sighting it was time to talk to Chief Astronomer Meyer and then the IAU directly. Perhaps the IAU was aware of another observatory making a similar observation.

  – 6 –

  Ten minutes later Doug received a meeting request in his email. Due to the 24-hour nature of the work at Mauna Kea, there was usually only one senior staff meeting per week, on Monday morning just as the shift changed. But Chief Astronomer Meyer made the unusual step of calling a meeting for that morning at 9:00 AM. It was the day after Doug’s initial sighting of the object.

  Just before the meeting Doug again tried to verify its position but the object was no longer visible due to increased coronal mass ejections. With its slow movement towards the sun it might not be visible again for months, with it eventually reappearing on the other side. Until then, any further observations would need to be made from space-based observatories.

  Doug gathered his notes and walked into the conference room for the meeting. There were already nine astronomers present, some from the evening shift that had stayed a couple hours extra to attend. As he sat down, George Stamouli, a senior astronomer from the deep field group, looked up, disengaging himself from the conversation with the woman beside him. “Is this about the object you spotted yesterday?”

  “No idea,” Doug replied. “Did you have a chance to look at the photo?”

  “Yes. Saw in the log. Couldn’t resist. Same for a number of others. Interesting, just barely visible. Appears completely spherical, as you say. Not much detail though. What do you think it is?”

  Just then Chief Astronomer Julius Meyer entered. “Sorry folks, false alarm. We’ll fill you in on Monday with our regular meeting.”

  Doug detected a hint of nervousness in Meyer’s voice. So did Stamouli, who briefly made eye contact with Doug. The staff collectively got up and filed out.

  Doug started to follow them to the exit, but Meyer called him back.

  “Stick around for a minute Doug.” Stamouli looked back, but walked out with the rest.

  Meyer shut the door after the last person left and sat down in the nearest chair, directly across from Doug, rather than his usual spot at the head of the table. Dou
g waited for him to speak.

  “It’s a planet,” Meyer said finally. “And it’s in an orbit directly opposite ours, at a distance of approximately one AU.”

  Doug didn’t reply. The implications were massive, as were the questions. After a few seconds, Meyer rose from his seat and walked to the window, looking outside at the sloping volcanic landscape as he talked.

  “Nobody knows where it came from, but it’s there, verified by NASA.”

  “Using their STEREO satellites?”

  “Yes, a few hours ago. But you and Foley at Atacama saw it first. STEREO was trained on another star when you logged the object. It took some time to reposition STEREO’s lenses. Because of their orbital distance ahead and behind us, together they will be able to keep tabs on the object at all times. We’re expecting some images soon, which will be free of the sun’s coronal interference.”

  “So we’ll have a better view and can determine if its orbit is stable.”

  “Correct.”

  “But that doesn’t explain how it got there.”

  “Correct again. But thanks to your discovery, and your reputation, you’ve been invited to an emergency conference in Washington. You’ll be meeting your plane at Pearl Harbor in two hours. Don’t bother to pack, there’s a helicopter on its way here, courtesy of the White House Chief Science Advisor. Everything you need will be provided courtesy of the federal government.”

  The White House Chief Science Advisor. Cheryl had been offered that position shortly before she died. He wasn’t sure who held the job now. It didn’t really matter though because Meyer wasn’t making sense.

  “A helicopter?” Doug asked, surprised. “A person can’t just take off at a moment’s notice, Julius. I need my personal laptop, back at my apartment. And what about my mail? I have to pack. Give me a day to make arrangements. I can conference call with the White House in the meantime.”

  “In their words, this is top priority. If they want you this badly, it’s important and it’s an opportunity. If it’s just some authoritarian bureaucrats in DC who’ve pushed the panic button, then you’ll get to enjoy a free trip to the White House on the Fed’s dime.”

  Doug frowned. They both understood that if somebody in DC was demanding Doug’s presence on such alarmingly short notice, the situation was serious. Julius was just trying to paint a happy face on it.

  “What’s the matter,” Julius said, as if reading Doug’s mind, “don’t you want to meet the President or are you worried you’ll have nothing to wear?”

  “It’s nothing, I’m happy to go.”

  “Good,” Julius replied briskly. “Take the opportunity, leave your apartment and car keys with my admin. We’ll take care of the mail and the apartment and whatever else. Just don’t worry about it.”

  True to Meyer’s word, Doug could hear the faint whup-whup sound of an approaching helicopter. He exhaled deeply. It was going to be a long day.

  – 7 –

  As expected the two military escorts riding with him on the helicopter were pleasant enough but not very forthcoming with information. It was likely neither of them knew why they were shuttling Doug to the airport anyway. They were there to get him to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, nothing more.

  Despite the spartan accommodations of the large helicopter, the seats were obviously designed for non-military personnel because they had decent padding, as if the aircraft was designed to transport the occasional dignitary. It was a good thing, since the flight lasted over two hours.

  The shuttle helicopter landed on the tarmac at Hickam about two hundred yards from what looked like a large private jet with no markings aside from the alphanumeric identification on the tail. Doug was surprised to be whisked immediately to the plane in a black SUV, a trip that lasted all of fifteen seconds. The SUV door was opened by a larger, impassive looking man in a dark suit who had been standing near the front wing.

  “Welcome Dr. Lockwood, I’m Agent Bishop. I’ve been assigned to you for the journey to the Pentagon, and perhaps for the duration of your stay in Washington. I’ll fill you in after we’re onboard.”

  They shook hands and Doug climbed the steps into the aircraft. It was a business jet, though on the large side, designed for longer range flights. As he walked through the entrance he was met by two flight attendants.

  The passenger seats were large, so there was only one row of seats on each side separated by a slightly wider than normal aisle. The relatively spacious arrangement meant that despite its size the jet could only accommodate about twelve passengers plus crew. The male attendant shut the aircraft’s door, and Doug realized it was just the four of them on the plane, aside from the flight crew. They sat him near the back on the left side, with Agent Bishop in the seat directly across the aisle.

  “I was assigned,” Bishop spoke up, turning to Doug, “to make it a bit easier for you to navigate the Pentagon and White House, and to get you what you need. Depending on the circumstances I may also be assigned as your bodyguard. We’ll go over your itinerary after we’re airborne.” He gestured at Doug to buckle his seatbelt as the plane taxied to the runway. They were in the air three minutes later.

  “I’m afraid it will be a long flight Dr. Lockwood, about eleven hours. The captain tells me we should be able to make it without refueling, seeing as we’re lightly loaded and might take advantage of tail winds part way.”

  Agent Bishop produced several folders.

  “You’ll need to sign some non-disclosure agreements. You can’t speak of this project with the press, any colleagues not invited to the Pentagon for this particular issue, not to friends, family, personnel at the university where you teach, or at the observatory. Of course this also extends to the internet. No posting of this issue on social media. Once at the Pentagon you’ll be issued a locked phone for communication only with other scientists and personnel tied to this project.”

  Doug lowered the seatback tray as the agent handed him a stack of six documents. Doug’s name and title were spelled out in full on each. They had highlighted tabs where his signature was required. He started to read the first one but then realized it was standard fare, not unlike the many NDA’s he had signed in the past for employers and government agencies engaged with the IPCC.

  “Okay,” Doug said as he handed the signed papers to Bishop, who put them into a briefcase and then produced a manila envelope.

  “Have a look.”

  Doug opened the sealed envelope as Agent Bishop continued to speak.

  “NASA took that photo ninety minutes ago. It’s your new planet.”

  Doug realized the envelope must have been delivered to the plane only minutes before he arrived. He pulled out a single 8”x10” high definition print, and a single letter-sized piece of paper. His jaw dropped as he saw the photo. It was fuzzy due to the extreme magnification, but it was a dead ringer for Earth, or as close as you could get. Continents, blue oceans, white clouds.

  “There may be better images in a few hours. These were done in a hurry, to try and figure out what we’re facing. Once you read what’s on that paper you’ll know as much as I do, and you’ll be given a lot more as the day goes on. There’s a full communications array on this aircraft so you’ll receive updates.”

  Doug heard him, but didn’t look up. The planet was remarkably like Earth, but the imprecise focus and the planet’s own cloud cover made it impossible to define the shape of the continents.

  After a few minutes of studying the photo Doug went to the sheet of paper. It had some information on the planet’s distance from the sun, estimated inclination, rotational speed, and other numbered data he didn’t immediately recognize. Some of the measurements were fairly precise, like the 1.0 AU from the sun, while others covered a range that could be Earth equivalents. The rotational period of the body was listed as “approximately 12-25 hours.” Detailed values would be provided as more measurements were taken over the next while.

  He glanced back up at Bishop. “I assume other nations are aware?
”

  “Not necessarily, though they will be soon. Some of them have their own satellites capable of observing the far side of the sun. The IAU is aware of what’s going on so it’s only a matter of time. No doubt there will be some sort of international conference in the next few days, but for now it’s strictly a US concern. The White House is calling in people like you to get as much information as we can before dealing with other countries.”

  “Scientists, astronomers, amateur stargazers,” Doug said drily, “they’ll be talking to each other. This is about as exciting as it gets for my crowd.”

  “They certainly will talk,” Bishop said with a faint smile. In order to keep a secret you had to have control of it.

  “So what are we supposed to do for the next eleven hours? Can we confer with Washington to get updates?”

  “We have an encrypted satellite phone at your disposal, with a list of numbers you may need including your co-discoverer colleague Professor Foley. By now he should also be on his way to Edwards. I’d also suggest you use some of the time to get some rest. You’ll likely be up all night, and then some.”

  Cheryl would have loved this, Doug thought, shaking his head at the information in front of him.

  Bishop handed Doug a temporary security card.

  “Keep this on you at all times. A permanent photo card will be issued to you after we land. A lot will be expected of you over the next few days. You will probably be given a work space or be assigned a command center. Staff will make every effort to get you what is needed to help with your work, but you will be under lockdown ‒ no unescorted trips outside your assigned areas in the Pentagon or at Edwards.”

  Bishop picked up the satellite phone. Though not much bigger than a typical phone it looked very rugged. It had physical buttons for dialing and a small screen for number display.

  “For official use only,” Bishop said. “Calls to relevant personnel you may wish to confer with during the flight.”