There’s probably another planet in our solar system

[Confounding]

Interesting.

There’s probably another planet in our solar system

Unperturbed, astronomers have once again picked up the scent. This time the hunt is on for a distant body they call Planet 9. And today, Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and a few colleagues lay out the evidence for it that has emerged over the last two decades. The make a persuasive argument that a search is warranted. And they say, “It is likely that if Planet Nine exists, it will be discovered within the coming decade.”

So what is is this evidence? Over the last 20 years or so, astronomers have discovered numerous small bodies orbiting beyond Neptune, many of them with highly elliptical orbits that take them to the outer reaches of the solar system, several hundred times farther from the sun than Earth.

These trans-Neptunian objects—of which Pluto is one—sit in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. But they are by no means a uniform bunch of rocks and ice. Instead, trans-Neptunian bodies fall into several classes determined by their orbital patterns.

These objects are so tiny that they are easily buffeted by the gravitational fields of their larger cousins—particularly Neptune. Indeed, astronomers treat them as point-like and thus capable of tracing out the gravitational dynamics.

And that leads to an important insight. Whatever their orbits, the paths they trace must be the result of forces exerted by bigger planets.

Neptune’s effect is easy to see because it continuously nudges and herds smaller objects. Indeed, a significant proportion of trans-Neptunian objects orbit in resonance with Neptune.

But a much smaller class, known as the detached population, have entirely different orbital properties. Some have retrograde orbits; others are highly eccentric or on paths that are dramatically inclined with respect to the sun’s plane.

Neptune cannot account for this kind of behavior. So the hypothesis that Batygin and others are exploring is that some other massive object—call it Planet 9—must be responsible.

 

[Marion Morrison]

Interesting.

There’s probably another planet in our solar system

Unperturbed, astronomers have once again picked up the scent. This time the hunt is on for a distant body they call Planet 9. And today, Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and a few colleagues lay out the evidence for it that has emerged over the last two decades. The make a persuasive argument that a search is warranted. And they say, “It is likely that if Planet Nine exists, it will be discovered within the coming decade.”

So what is is this evidence? Over the last 20 years or so, astronomers have discovered numerous small bodies orbiting beyond Neptune, many of them with highly elliptical orbits that take them to the outer reaches of the solar system, several hundred times farther from the sun than Earth.

These trans-Neptunian objects—of which Pluto is one—sit in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. But they are by no means a uniform bunch of rocks and ice. Instead, trans-Neptunian bodies fall into several classes determined by their orbital patterns.

These objects are so tiny that they are easily buffeted by the gravitational fields of their larger cousins—particularly Neptune. Indeed, astronomers treat them as point-like and thus capable of tracing out the gravitational dynamics.

And that leads to an important insight. Whatever their orbits, the paths they trace must be the result of forces exerted by bigger planets.

Neptune’s effect is easy to see because it continuously nudges and herds smaller objects. Indeed, a significant proportion of trans-Neptunian objects orbit in resonance with Neptune.

But a much smaller class, known as the detached population, have entirely different orbital properties. Some have retrograde orbits; others are highly eccentric or on paths that are dramatically inclined with respect to the sun’s plane.

Neptune cannot account for this kind of behavior. So the hypothesis that Batygin and others are exploring is that some other massive object—call it Planet 9—must be responsible.

 

[Pogo]

Interesting.

There’s probably another planet in our solar system

Unperturbed, astronomers have once again picked up the scent. This time the hunt is on for a distant body they call Planet 9. And today, Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and a few colleagues lay out the evidence for it that has emerged over the last two decades. The make a persuasive argument that a search is warranted. And they say, “It is likely that if Planet Nine exists, it will be discovered within the coming decade.”

So what is is this evidence? Over the last 20 years or so, astronomers have discovered numerous small bodies orbiting beyond Neptune, many of them with highly elliptical orbits that take them to the outer reaches of the solar system, several hundred times farther from the sun than Earth.

These trans-Neptunian objects—of which Pluto is one—sit in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. But they are by no means a uniform bunch of rocks and ice. Instead, trans-Neptunian bodies fall into several classes determined by their orbital patterns.

These objects are so tiny that they are easily buffeted by the gravitational fields of their larger cousins—particularly Neptune. Indeed, astronomers treat them as point-like and thus capable of tracing out the gravitational dynamics.

And that leads to an important insight. Whatever their orbits, the paths they trace must be the result of forces exerted by bigger planets.

Neptune’s effect is easy to see because it continuously nudges and herds smaller objects. Indeed, a significant proportion of trans-Neptunian objects orbit in resonance with Neptune.

But a much smaller class, known as the detached population, have entirely different orbital properties. Some have retrograde orbits; others are highly eccentric or on paths that are dramatically inclined with respect to the sun’s plane.

Neptune cannot account for this kind of behavior. So the hypothesis that Batygin and others are exploring is that some other massive object—call it Planet 9—must be responsible.

Well it's about time. Pluto was discovered in 1930, Neptune in the 19th century and Uranus in the 18th. We do it every century.

This is going to wreak havoc with the astrology books though.

 

[BlackFlag]

Interesting.

There’s probably another planet in our solar system

Unperturbed, astronomers have once again picked up the scent. This time the hunt is on for a distant body they call Planet 9. And today, Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and a few colleagues lay out the evidence for it that has emerged over the last two decades. The make a persuasive argument that a search is warranted. And they say, “It is likely that if Planet Nine exists, it will be discovered within the coming decade.”

So what is is this evidence? Over the last 20 years or so, astronomers have discovered numerous small bodies orbiting beyond Neptune, many of them with highly elliptical orbits that take them to the outer reaches of the solar system, several hundred times farther from the sun than Earth.

These trans-Neptunian objects—of which Pluto is one—sit in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. But they are by no means a uniform bunch of rocks and ice. Instead, trans-Neptunian bodies fall into several classes determined by their orbital patterns.

These objects are so tiny that they are easily buffeted by the gravitational fields of their larger cousins—particularly Neptune. Indeed, astronomers treat them as point-like and thus capable of tracing out the gravitational dynamics.

And that leads to an important insight. Whatever their orbits, the paths they trace must be the result of forces exerted by bigger planets.

Neptune’s effect is easy to see because it continuously nudges and herds smaller objects. Indeed, a significant proportion of trans-Neptunian objects orbit in resonance with Neptune.

But a much smaller class, known as the detached population, have entirely different orbital properties. Some have retrograde orbits; others are highly eccentric or on paths that are dramatically inclined with respect to the sun’s plane.

Neptune cannot account for this kind of behavior. So the hypothesis that Batygin and others are exploring is that some other massive object—call it Planet 9—must be responsible.

Even knowing a potential path the thing could take, the job of finding it is still astronomical (wakka wakka)

I have heard on podcasts scientists say that the best odds of finding it is with crowdsourced projects like this one: Zooniverse

 

[aaronleland]

We should name is something funny. Is Uranus taken? I'm kidding. That would be silly.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Interesting.

There’s probably another planet in our solar system

Unperturbed, astronomers have once again picked up the scent. This time the hunt is on for a distant body they call Planet 9. And today, Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and a few colleagues lay out the evidence for it that has emerged over the last two decades. The make a persuasive argument that a search is warranted. And they say, “It is likely that if Planet Nine exists, it will be discovered within the coming decade.”

So what is is this evidence? Over the last 20 years or so, astronomers have discovered numerous small bodies orbiting beyond Neptune, many of them with highly elliptical orbits that take them to the outer reaches of the solar system, several hundred times farther from the sun than Earth.

These trans-Neptunian objects—of which Pluto is one—sit in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. But they are by no means a uniform bunch of rocks and ice. Instead, trans-Neptunian bodies fall into several classes determined by their orbital patterns.

These objects are so tiny that they are easily buffeted by the gravitational fields of their larger cousins—particularly Neptune. Indeed, astronomers treat them as point-like and thus capable of tracing out the gravitational dynamics.

And that leads to an important insight. Whatever their orbits, the paths they trace must be the result of forces exerted by bigger planets.

Neptune’s effect is easy to see because it continuously nudges and herds smaller objects. Indeed, a significant proportion of trans-Neptunian objects orbit in resonance with Neptune.

But a much smaller class, known as the detached population, have entirely different orbital properties. Some have retrograde orbits; others are highly eccentric or on paths that are dramatically inclined with respect to the sun’s plane.

Neptune cannot account for this kind of behavior. So the hypothesis that Batygin and others are exploring is that some other massive object—call it Planet 9—must be responsible.

Well it's about time. Pluto was discovered in 1930, Neptune in the 19th century and Uranus in the 18th. We do it every century.

This is going to wreak havoc with the astrology books though.

Say it ain't so, I'm a Libra, will it throw my scales out of wack?

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

There is probably more than one. We still have no idea whats in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud.