Scientists just found more evidence that Planet Nine exists in our Solar System

http://www.sciencealert.com ^ | 29 MAR 2016 | Bec Crew

[Red Badger]

And this new planet could be huge.

Back in January, the astronomer who led the charge to have Pluto demoted to dwarf planet status announced that he’d just found evidence that a huge, icy planet could be lurking on the edge of the Solar System, just past Neptune.

Mike Brown, a planetary astronomer at Caltech University, estimated that the hypothetical 'Planet Nine' appears to be circling the Sun on a super-elongated orbit that takes an incredible 10,000 to 20,000 years to complete. And now, thanks to a newly detected Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) that’s acting really strange, Brown says the case for Planet Nine just got a whole lot stronger.

"Hey Planet Nine fans, a new eccentric KBO was discovered. And it is exactly where Planet Nine says it should be," Brown tweeted over the weekend.

So what do weirdly behaving KBOs have to do with finding a never-before-seen planet in our Solar System?

Well, when you’re suggesting that something as large as Planet Nine - which is estimated to be 10 times more massive than Earth and four times the size - exists within a fairly crowded patch of the Universe, you’d expect to see its considerable gravitational forces affect the smaller things floating around nearby.

And that’s exactly what Brown and his colleagues have been identifying.

"We saw a strange signal in the data that meant something odd was going on in the outer Solar System," Brown told Ian Sample at The Guardian back in January. "All of these distant objects were lined up in a weird way and that shouldn’t happen. We worked through the mundane explanations, but none of them worked out."

A total of six KBOs were identified as 'lining up' strangely, and now a seventh KBO has been added to the list. As Loren Grush reports for The Verge, this seventh KBO appears to have been pushed into a strange orbit by some great force nearby, about 149 billion km from the Sun, which is where Planet Nine is expected to be located. That's 75 times more distant than Pluto.

The newest object was discovered by researchers using the Canada France Hawaii Telescope to conduct the massive Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS), the latest results of which were presented recently by astronomer Michele Bannister at the SETI Institute.

Brown points to a slide showing the KBO’s strange orbit from the talk as strengthening the case for Planet Nine.

Hey Planet Nine fans, a new eccentric KBO was discovered. And it is exactly where Planet Nine says it should be. pic.twitter.com/oZn0RDq8JF — Mike Brown (@plutokiller) March 24, 2016

I haven't done the statistics yet, but I suspect this takes the probability of this being a statistical fluke down to ~.001% or so. — Mike Brown (@plutokiller) March 24, 2016

Now, let’s be clear about the state of Planet Nine as it currently stands. There is now strong evidence, via the strange behaviours of seven known KBOs, that something huge is lurking in the far reaches of our Solar System.

A huge planet is a good guess, but because of how incredibly distant this region in space is from Earth, we can’t actually 'see' that far to visually confirm its existence. That means whatever circumstantial evidence we find for its existence needs to be incredibly solid, and we’re not there yet.

Brown’s yet to write up his claims that this new KBO is being influenced by a huge, nearby planet, and until they have been peer-reviewed, we have to treat them as very preliminary findings.

But more evidence - however preliminary - is exactly what Brown and other researchers need to either prove or disprove Planet Nine’s existence, so this is a very exciting discovery for all involved. We can't wait to see what else they find.

http://www.sciencealert.com/astronomers-have-found-evidence-of-huge-ninth-planet-on-the-edge-of-the-solar-system?utm_source=Article&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=InArticleReadMore

[puppypusher]

Pretty good Red.Pretty good.

[ShadowAce]

I wonder if this new planet would be concealed on the back side of the sun where we are never able to see it.

Given that the article says P9's orbit is about 10-20,000 Earth years, we would be in a position to see it at some point during our year.

[Svartalfiar]

I don’t quite understand.. We can’t see this supposed massive planet, we can only guess based on seeing its gravitational effects on other stuff. Small stuff. Little bitty kbos, that we can see?

[Red Badger]

It’s 75 times as far away as Pluto...................

[camle]

zaccheriah stichen (chariots of fire kinda dude) already identified this decades ago. named it marduk. it’s where those ancient aliens came from doncha know

[puppypusher]

I guess we’ll see in another 15000 to 20000 years.That is,If we’ll still be around.

[camle]

journey to the far side of the sun - starring roy thinnes (from the invaders), and special effects from gerry anderson - stingray/thunderbirds/supercar, etc

[SparkyBass]

Planet X was found LONG ago....

[Red Badger]

He’s still kicking!.....................

[Jack Hammer]

Bullying poor, little Pluto.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger.

"Hey Planet Nine fans, a new eccentric KBO was discovered. And it is exactly where Planet Nine says it should be," Brown tweeted over the weekend.

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[SunkenCiv]

the top secret "deus ex machina" keyword!!!

• Search Narrows For Planet Nine [2016]
• Don't Blame 'Planet Nine' for Earth's Mass Extinctions [2016]
• Researchers find evidence of a real ninth planet [2016]
• There's a ninth planet in our solar system - we just can't see it yet, study says [2016]
• Ninth Planet May Exist in Solar System Beyond Pluto, New Evidence Suggests [2016]
• Scientists may have found Planet X, the mysterious presence that has eluded astronomers [2015]
• Why Earth is so much bigger than Mars: Rocky planets formed from 'pebbles' [2015]
• Is there a Planet X, a 'massive perturber,' hidden beyond Pluto? [2015]
• Youthful Frozen Plains Cover Pluto's Big 'Heart' - Spectacular New Images from New Horizons [2015]
• Young Jupiter wiped out solar system's early inner planets, study says [2015]
• Two more planets in our Solar System, say astronomers [2015]
• When straying Jupiter went on the pull [2012]
• Giant planet ejected from the solar system [2011]
• So Many Lonely Planets with No Star to Guide Them [2011]
• 'Free-floating' planets found with no star in sight [2011]
• Lonely Rogue Worlds Surprisingly Outnumber Planets with Suns [2011]
• Astronomers Doubt Giant Planet 'Tyche' Exists In Our Solar System [2011]
• Giant Stealth Planet May Explain Rain of Comets from Solar System's Edge [2010]
• 'Jupiter swallowed planet 10 times the size of Earth' [2010]
• On the Fringe: Astronomers look to the Kuiper belt for clues to the solar system's history [2010]
• Asteroid Belt Loaded with Former Comets [2009]
• The Curious Case of Missing Asteroids [2009]
• Were Mercury and Mars separated at birth? [2009]
• Are Jupiters Hard to Come By? [2008]
• We're going on a planet hunt [2006]
• Death Spiral: Why Theorists Can't Make Solar Systems [2006]

[SunkenCiv]

;’) Glad someone said it, the suspense was killin’ me.

[SunkenCiv]

Speaking of kickin’, he kicked it in October of 2010.

http://www.sitchiniswrong.com/

What I’m wondering is, where’s GT’s “it was aliens” graphic? Everyone hungover again as usual on a Tuesday, that’s my theory. And pass some Aleve, no reason.

[V K Lee]

And what type of minds think alike? :-)) Plan 9. The solar system has been evolving in structure till it’s no longer being taught in schools without subsequent editions. Is this another liberal fantasy or are intelligent beings finding themselves smarter?

[Idaho_Cowboy]

This looks like a job for DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24 1/2 CENTURY!

Are you ready eager young space cadet?

[Verginius Rufus]

10 times more massive than Earth? That would make it 1/30th the mass of Jupiter, and less massive than Uranus or Neptune. Hard to see how an object with that mass so far out could have such a large gravitational effect on KBO’s.

[Red Badger]

It’s the only thing in the neighborhood?........................

[Svartalfiar]

From the story: A total of six KBOs were identified as 'lining up' strangely, and now a seventh KBO has been added to the list. As Loren Grush reports for The Verge, this seventh KBO appears to have been pushed into a strange orbit by some great force nearby, about 149 billion km from the Sun, which is where Planet Nine is expected to be located. That's 75 times more distant than Pluto.

Yes, I get that it's far away. But what I don't understand is how we can't see it, but we can see the tiny things close to it that are behaving oddly. How can we see all these little guys but not the big one near them?

[Verginius Rufus]

If it is 75 times further away than Pluto, it is hardly in the neighborhood of the known Kuiper Belt Objects. Pluto's average distance is 39.482 astronomical units from the sun; Eris' is 67.668 astronomical units out and at last report was the furthest out object in the solar system that has been actually seen.

When Percival Lowell was hunting for a planet beyond Neptune it was called Planet X. Planet Nine could be called Planet IX.