US EditionAstronomers May Be Close to Finding Planet Nine
- Researchers from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, headed by astronomer Terry Long Phan, identified a strong Planet Nine candidate by examining data from two far-infrared all-sky surveys conducted 23 years apart.
- This study builds on the background that Pluto lost its planet status in 2006 because it did not clear its orbit, while clustering of trans-Neptunian objects suggested a large unseen planet, coined Planet Nine in 2016 by Caltech astronomers.
- The researchers analyzed data from two far-infrared all-sky surveys conducted over two decades apart—one by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite and the other by Japan’s AKARI mission—to identify 13 potential Planet Nine candidates, ultimately narrowing their focus to a single promising object exhibiting the slow orbital motion expected of a distant planet beyond Neptune.
- The researchers noted that no direct observations have yet confirmed the existence of Planet Nine, as it is thought to orbit at a great distance past Neptune, where it receives and reflects very little sunlight. They emphasized the need for additional studies to verify this hypothesis.
- Confirming Planet Nine would improve understanding of the solar system’s formation and structure, but its existence remains unproven and further observations with upcoming telescopes are necessary to verify the candidate.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Astronomers spot candidate for potential ninth planet far beyond Neptune
Researchers have found a candidate for the hypothetical Planet Nine, which could be an undiscovered giant planet way out in our solar system. However, as with all ninth planet research, the new findings were met with some skepticism.
Scientists Discover Super-Earths Are Surprisingly Common Across the Galaxy
Exoplanet super-Earths are more prevalent in the universe than earlier research predicted, according to international scientists analyzing recent data from the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). Researchers investigated light anomalies created by a recently discovered planet‘s host star. When compared to a larger sample from the KMNet microlensing survey, these anomalies revealed that super-Earths may be located as far from their sun…
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