What is the possible 9th planet?
What is the possible 9th planet?
Planet Nine is a hypothetical giant planet that might be orbiting the Sun somewhere beyond Pluto. Its presence is one possible explanation for the weird way a handful of small icy objects in the outskirts of the solar system seem to cluster into very similar orbits.
Has planet 9 been confirmed?
Planet Nine is a hypothetical planet in the outer region of the Solar System. While sky surveys such as Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Pan-STARRS did not detect Planet Nine, they have not ruled out the existence of a Neptune-diameter object in the outer Solar System.
Is there a ninth planet in the Solar System?
The researchers, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown, discovered the planet’s existence through mathematical modeling and computer simulations but have not yet observed the object directly. “This would be a real ninth planet,” says Brown, the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy.
Is planet Nine the most Planet-Y in the universe?
Unlike the class of smaller objects now known as dwarf planets, Planet Nine gravitationally dominates its neighborhood of the solar system. In fact, it dominates a region larger than any of the other known planets—a fact that Brown says makes it “the most planet-y of the planets in the whole solar system.”
Is planet Nine gas or gas?
This artistic rendering shows the distant view from Planet Nine back towards the sun. The planet is thought to be gaseous, similar to Uranus and Neptune. Hypothetical lightning lights up the night side. Credit: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)
What are the predicted consequences of Planet Nine?
A predicted consequence of Planet Nine is that a second set of confined objects should also exist. These objects are forced into positions at right angles to Planet Nine and into orbits that are perpendicular to the plane of the solar system.
