We all know (some of us might still be sad about it) that Pluto was demoted to a “dwarf-planet” status back in 2006. In other news, however (and mayhaps this could make up for Pluto’s decline), some scientists have speculated that another planet — known as Planet Nine — might be orbiting our sun.
Ideas about such a planet existing beyond Neptune’s orbit captured the imaginations of scientists as early as 1846, the year of Neptune’s discovery. Some of the speculation revolves around the fact that several very large objects (such as the dwarf planet 2012 VP113, nicknamed “Biden” as in the American Vice President in 2012) have begun to cluster around an unusual pattern of orbits.
In 2016 astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin found this pattern and argued that it was likely caused by a large object’s gravitational pull. They think Planet Nine could have a diameter about 10 times greater than earth, but because it is so far away (far beyond the orbit of Pluto), it is very difficult to detect — the light of the sun wouldn’t reflect off if it nearly so brightly as the other planets we know of.
The status of Planet Nine it still TBD. Any resemblance to “Plan Nine from Outer Space” – a 1957 film about aliens trying to resurrect the dead as ghouls to prevent earthlings from destroying each other — winning a Golden Turkey Award for the Worst Film Ever — is purely coincidental (see second image).
Source(s): @sciencealert.com “What is Planet Nine, and does it even exist?” _sciencealert_ staff.
