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After studying thousands of computer simulations of the solar system, researchers at Rice University and the Planetary Science Institute think there\u2019s a 40% chance an elusive \u201cPlanet Nine\u201d or \u201cPlanet X\u201d might exist in the outer solar system. It\u2019s the latest hint that there may be an undiscovered world beyond the orbit of Neptune and dwarf planet Pluto.<\/p>\n
Atmosphere and clouds. Exploration of far galaxies. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. (url: … More https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/thumbnails\/image\/lmc_7k.jpg https:\/\/eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov\/images\/imagerecords\/57000\/57476\/SouthWest.A2001361.1815.250m.jpg)<\/p>\n
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The new study published<\/a> in Nature Astronomy reveals that \u201cwide-orbit\u201d planets \u2014 those that orbit the sun from at least 100 times farther than Earth orbits the sun \u2014 may be a natural consequence of how planets form.<\/p>\n According to NASA<\/a>, planets form from the giant, donut-shaped region of gas and dust that surrounds young stars, known as a protoplanetary disk. As planets jostle for space, the chaos can cause some to be flung into much wider orbits.<\/p>\n The research increases the likelihood that Planet X or Planet Nine, hypothetical planets that may or may not exist in the outer solar system, actually exist.<\/p>\n \u2018pinballs In A Cosmic Arcade\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cEssentially, we\u2019re watching pinballs in a cosmic arcade,\u201d said<\/a> Andr\u00e9 Izidoro, lead author of the study and assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Rice University. \u201cWhen giant planets scatter each other through gravitational interactions, some are flung far away from their star.\u201d<\/p>\n If the timing and surrounding environment are just right, those planets don\u2019t get ejected but are trapped in extremely wide orbits \u2014 which could have happened in the solar system as Uranus and Neptune grew or the later scattering among gas giants. \u201cThere is up to a 40% chance that a Planet Nine-like object could have been trapped during that time,\u201d said Izidoro. \u201cWe\u2019re not just increasing the odds of finding Planet Nine \u2014 we\u2019re opening a new window into the architecture and evolution of planetary systems throughout the galaxy.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hunt For Planet Nine<\/p>\n Various objects have been discovered beyond Neptune in highly elongated yet remarkably similarly oriented orbits, as if the gravitational influence of a planet midway between Earth and Neptune, in mass, has herded them. If it exists, it\u2019s in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune that’s home to Pluto, other dwarf planets and comets. In May, scientists in Taiwan, searching for a ninth planet, found hints<\/a> of something in archival images taken by long-dead infrared telescopes. It’s hoped that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory \u2014 which will use the world’s most powerful camera to survey the sky starting later in 2025 \u2014 will either find or rule out Planet Nine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why Pluto Could Not Remain The Ninth Planet<\/p>\n In 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto’s status from a planet to a \u201cplutoid,\u201d which was later changed to a dwarf planet. It’s become fashionable to deny this, maintaining that the solar system must still have nine planets. However, Pluto\u2019s status was changed for a good reason. In 2003, an object farther out in the Kuiper Belt than Pluto was discovered. It became known as Eris, and crucially, it’s almost the same size as Pluto. Those who still maintain there are nine planets in the solar system are, therefore, wrong \u2014 if you keep Pluto, you must also have Eris. With three slightly smaller Pluto-like objects also found \u2014 Makemake, Haumea and Sedna \u2014 it\u2019s easy to see why the IAU decided to re-classify Pluto rather than admit a possibly ever-increasing roster of new objects to planet-status.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong><\/p>\n ForbesAstronomers Close In On \u2018Planet Nine\u2019 As Hints FoundBy Jamie Carter<\/a>
\nForbesIn Photos: Strawberry Moon Skims Horizon In Once-In-A-Generation EventBy Jamie Carter<\/a> <\/p>\n