Planet 9

Astronomers have found more evidence to support the existence of Planet Nine.

13:06 29 October 2016

In January, astronomers said that they might have discovered a ninth planet based on the peculiar clustering of six previously known objects that orbit beyond Neptune. 

 

In a new study, more evidence has been presented suggesting that the hypothetical world is responsible for the strange orbits of these distant objects. 

 

In recent years, the number of distant icy rocks found in Neptune has increased. These include Eris, which was discovered in 2005 by the CalTech team. Due to their distorted orbit, they are far out from the sun and located in a place called the Kuiper Belt, which takes thousands of years to make a single pass.  

 

Together with his team, Renu Malhotra, a professor of planetary sciences at the University of Arizona, looked at these Kuiper Belt Objects. They found the four with the longest known orbital periods that revolve around the sun in a way that may explain the presence of a hypothetical “Planet Nine”. 

 

'We analysed the data of these most distant Kuiper Belt Objects,' Professor Malhotra said, 'and noticed something peculiar, suggesting they were in some kind of resonances with an unseen planet.'

 

He added: 'Our paper provides more specific estimates for the mass and orbit that this planet would have, and, more importantly, constraints on its current position within its orbit,'