Possible evidence for a ninth planet

rhombus · **on:** January 20, 2016, 08:29:03 PM

Findings published in the Astronomical Journal seem to point to the existence of a large ninth planet existing outside the orbit of Neptune. The paper argues that the alignment of the Kuiper Belt objects in space points to the existence of a planet 10 times the size of Earth with a highly elliptical orbit. No actual planet has been found yet, but if it exists where the research think it does then it would take 10,000-20,000 years to orbit the sun.

Kor · **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2016, 11:40:25 PM

That is very interesting, imagine if there is one.

Ducky123 · **Reply #2 on:** January 21, 2016, 09:02:47 AM

That'd be the biggest space related discovery of this millenium I think

hope they stay on it and try to verify/falsify that theory.

vonboy · **Reply #3 on:** January 22, 2016, 12:43:30 PM

Couldn't really understand that paper when I tried looking at it. But thankfully Scott Manley made a nice little explanation video for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uLvynZjMWM

Really interesting theory there. Later in the year, they want to get some telescope time on the Wise spacecraft's telescope to look for it. It's gonna be hard to pick up a possible planet so far out there, though, since it'd be so cold from being so far away from the sun, so it wouldn't be emitting much infrared light at all.

Course, it could just be some other process or phenomenon that no ones discovered yet, which would be really cool too.

bestariana1girl · **Reply #4 on:** January 22, 2016, 02:41:08 PM

I love this discovery, I love Cosmology & I know that there are more planets out there!

Nick22 · **Reply #5 on:** July 27, 2020, 05:41:07 PM

this extra planet makes our solar system more normal, as many solar systems have a super Earth planet, one several times bigger than Earth but smaller than a gas giant. This planet likely formed much closer to the sun, then was flung out after interactions with Saturn and Jupiter over millions of years.