Posted on 07/05/2016 6:11:20 PM PDT by MtnClimber
More clues about where to search for a possible ninth planet lurking in the fringes of our solar system are emerging from the Kuiper belt, the icy debris field beyond Neptune. And new calculations suggest that the putative planet might be brighter — and a bit easier to find — than once thought.
Evidence for the existence of Planet Nine is scant, based on apparent alignments among the orbits of the six most distant denizens of the Kuiper belt (SN: 2/20/16, p. 6). Their oval orbits all point in roughly the same direction and lie in about the same plane, suggesting that a hidden planet, about five to 20 times as massive as Earth, has herded them onto similar trajectories.
Planetary scientists Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin, both at Caltech, announced this evidence in January. ....
Planet Nine’s average distance from the sun is most likely between 500 and 600 times as far as Earth’s, Brown and Batygin report. Its orbit is highly stretched and tipped by about 30 degrees relative to the rest of the solar system, taking it well above and below the orbits of the eight known worlds. And right now, it’s probably near its farthest point from the sun — possibly as far as 250 billion kilometers away — in a large patch of sky around the constellation Orion.
But the evidence depends on orbital oddities among just six frozen worlds. “The argument that a planet is there is not ironclad,” cautions Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “I think it’s worth studying. There’s enough there to not ignore this evidence,” she adds. “We just shouldn’t get depressed if the planet’s not there.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenews.org ...
From outer space
It is inbetween Planet 8 and Planet 10.
It is called Pluto.
It may not be there, but at least they have some clues about where to look.
Nibiru?
Rupert.
Who has the authority to decide what is a planet or what is not?
I don’t know. I still consider Pluto to be a planet.
Think so: 
Mondas.
Some astronomy board or body. It’s just a matter of nomenclature. Pluto is still there even if it’s not called a planet.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is the self-appointed arbiter of what is considered a planet, and decide what name is/is not acceptable for celestial bodies.
It's sort of like the Nobel committee. It wasn't created by treaty of any legal document; it's just a collection of academics who have arrogated to themselves authority that all the other eggheads defer to.
These jackwagons decided amongst themselves that Pluto was no longer considered a planet, and the rest of the media eagerly fell into line. The majority of planetary scientists dissent, but they can't public quarrel with the IAU lest their peer reviews/grant money/telescope time dries up.
Do these guys think this is "Climate Science", or what?
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/mikebrown/index
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/konstantinbatygin/index
This planet who’s only evidence is a computer model (like global warming sound familiar ?) is suspected to have caused mass extinctions on earth , or has it ?
I grew up with Pluto. Now Pluto is no more.
I grew up with America......
And call the other Pluto the 9 1/2th planet?
How that would leave Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris numbered, I have no idea. Split them into quarter numbers, and eighths?
Whatever the plan, I doubt 'out there' there is anything as rocking as what we've got going on here on this third stone from the Sun.
The Flintstones Meet The Jetsons, Craig Middle School 6th grade band
A band of sixth graders...don't know where on earth Craig Middle School is, but I'm proud of them. They hit the notes (I think) for what it's worth.
From the sidebar, a more professional version (of this classic 'rocker);
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones - Michigan Pops Orchestra Fall 2011
Charon is a minor orbiting body....
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