New study claims mysterious Planet Nine does exist
Last month, researchers released controversial findings that suggest the mysterious Planet 9 may not exist after all, after analysis of a four-year survey found that observation bias may have been to blame for data that built the argument in its favor.
But now, a new study has once again revived hopes for a ninth planet lurking within our solar system.
Using a new technique to reduce such biases, astronomers in Spain found that a mysterious object located more than 300 times the distance between the Earth and the sun is, in fact, altering the orbits of objects beyond Neptune.
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A new study has once again revived hopes for a ninth planet lurking within our solar system. In the new study, researchers from Complutense University of Madrid used a different approach for search for the mysterious planet, and they say it’s less susceptible to observation bias
In the argument for Planet 9, there are many conditions that are critical, including a phenomenon known as ‘clustering,’ in which the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are clustered in space as a result of the massive planet.
The Outer Solar System Origins Survey released last month examined eight patches of the sky from 2013-2017, revealing the presence of more than 800 TNOs â€" but, after identifying eight TNOs that would be useful to test for a ninth planet, the researchers found no evidence of tight clustering.
This caused some to argue that biases in the data may be to blame for its supposed existence.
In the new study, the researchers from Complutense University of Madrid used a different approach for search for the mysterious planet, and they say it’s less susceptible to observation bias.
The team studied objects known as extreme trans-Neptunian objects, which are located at a distance more than 150 AU and never cross Neptune’s orbit.
The astronomers measured the distances from their nodes, or the two points at which the orbit crosses the plane of the solar system, to the sun.
And, the findings suggest there is a planet lurking in the outer reaches, beyond Pluto.
‘If there is nothing to perturb them, the nodes of these extreme trans-Neptunian objects should be uniformly distributed, as there is nothing for them to avoid, but if there are one or more perturbers, two situations may arise,’ said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos.
‘One possibility is that the ENTOs are stable, and in this case they would tend to have their nodes away from the path of possible perturbers, he adds, but if they are unstable the would behave as the comets that interact with Jupiter do, that is tending to have one of the nodes close to the orbit of the hypothetical perturber.’
The researchers found that the nodes of 28 ETNOs investigated in the study are clustered in particular zones.
Using a new technique to reduce such biases, astronomers in Spain found that a mysterious object located more than 300 times the distance between the Earth and the sun is, in fact, altering the orbits of objects beyond Neptune. An artist's impression is picturedÂ
They also found a correlation between the position of the nodes, and what’s known as inclination, a parameter for defining their orientation in space.
But, the researchers say, there should be no correlation between these factors.
‘Assuming that the ENTOs are dynamically similar to the comets that interact with Jupiter, we interpret these results as signs of the presence of a planet that is actively interacting with them in a range of distances from 300 to 400 AU,’ said de la Fuente Marcos.
‘We believe that what we are seeing here cannot be attributed to the presence of observational bias.’
‘It is the first time that the nodes have been used to try to understand the dynamics of the ETNOs,’ de la Fuente Marcos said.
According to the researcher, the new findings support the original hypothesis proposed by the Caltech researchers in 2016, and one proposed in 2014 by another team.
Since the planet was first proposed, several studies have attempted to find evidence of its existence far beyond Neptune based on several signatures it would leave
While recent studies have also suggested the possibility of another planet roughly the size of Mars thought to exist in the solar system, dubbed ‘Planet 10,’ the researchers say it’s unrelated to the planet supported by their data.
‘Given the current definition of planet, this other mysterious object may not be a true planet, even if it has a size similar to that of the Earth, as it could be surrounded by huge asteroids or dwarf planets,’ the astronomer explains.
‘In any case, we are convinced that Volk and Malhortra’s work has found solid evidence of the presence of a massive body beyond the so-called Kuiper Cliff, the furthest point of the trans-Neptunian belt, at some 5 0 AU from the sun, and we hope to be able to present soon a new work which also supports its existence.’
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