ASTRONOMERS say they’re zeroing in on an elusive NINTH planet in the outer reaches of our Solar System.
In a recent study, experts ruled out a section of the night sky where the mysterious object may be located.
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It means that astronomers have narrowed down the area where they can find the elusive Planet Nine – if it exists at all, of course.
The distant object is thought to be up to ten times the mass of Earth and orbits just out of reach of our telescopes.
It was proposed to explain the unusual orbits of objects at the edge of our star system.
However, it has never been directly observed and whether or not it exists remains a topic of fierce debate among astronomers.
In a recent study published on Arxiv, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania detailed their latest attempt to find the planet.
They used data from the Dark Energy Survey, a research effort to map hundreds of millions of galaxies to shed light on dark energy.
The team used computer models to hunt through data to find any possible sign of Planet Nine based on its predicted size and orbit.
They didn’t find it, but by doing so were able to eliminate five per cent of the region of the night sky covered by DES where these objects weren’t spotted.
While they didn’t find the planet, their work ruled out a section of the sky where it could be located.
According to the team, this improves the odds of finding Planet Nine by focusing researchers’ search criteria in future.
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Planet Nine, also referred to as “Planet X”, is a hypothesised world that some astronomers think is circling the sun beyond Pluto on a 10,000-year orbit.
Believed to be up to ten times the size of Earth, it was first proposed to explain the paths of distant chunks of ice and space rock.
Objects beyond Neptune have weird orbits, suggesting that a large planet is influencing their motion with its gravitational pull.
A search is underway to find the distant world using telescopes that could spot it at any moment.
A number of research papers in recent years provide what could be considered strong evidence for the planet’s existence.
However, no one has managed to obtain indisputable proof in the form of a direct observation.
As a result, many scientists doubt that a ninth planet is out there – though Nasa says there is a “compelling case” for its existence.
What has Nasa said about Planet Nine?
Nasa is open to the possibility that Planet Nine exists, and has a page dedicated to the fabled world on its website.
There, the agency describes a “Hypothetical Planet X”, suggesting that it could be up to 10 times the mass of Earth.
It adds that the object could have an orbit so far out that a year would last between 10,000 and 20,000 Earth years.
Nasa is careful, however, to emphasize that the planet is only a hypothesis at this point, and that more evidence is required to confirm its existence.
“The possibility of a new planet is certainly an exciting one for me as a planetary scientist and for all of us,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division.
“This is not, however, the detection or discovery of a new planet. It’s too early to say with certainty there’s a so-called Planet X.
“What we’re seeing is an early prediction based on modelling from limited observations. It’s the start of a process that could lead to an exciting result.”
Doubts over the planet’s existence
Planet Nine has never been observed and was proposed in 2016 by scientists at CalTech to explain the wobbly orbits of objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune filled with dwarf planets and icy debris.
Scientists thought the gravitational pull of an undiscovered ninth planet in the Solar System could be yanking the space bodies into unusual trajectories.
Not everyone is convinced, however, with a number of studies arguing that the orbits are the result of other celestial forces.
A recent study led by astronomers at the University of Cambridge study suggested that the baffling movements have a far simpler explanation.
The team argued that the orbits are instead being warped by a huge disk of icy objects in the Kuiper Belt.
The disk is ten times heavier than Earth and is made up of debris leftover from the formation of the Solar System that has long since frozen over.
Computer simulations carried out by the team show such a disk explains the orbits of Kuiper belt objects, also known as Trans Neptunian Objects (TNOs).
Other papers have suggested that the wobbly orbits may be caused by a small black hole or a small ball of ultra-concentrated dark matter.
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