A recent study submitted to the Journal of Astronomy continues the search for the elusive Planet Nine (also known as Planet X), a hypothetical planet that may orbit the outer reaches of the solar system, far beyond the orbit of the dwarf planet Pluto.
The goal of this study is to narrow down the possible location of Planet Nine and potentially help researchers better understand the composition of our solar system and how it formed and evolved.
So, what is the motivation behind this study of shrinking the location of potential Planet Nine?
Dr. Mike Brown, Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Astronomy at Caltech and lead author of the study, told Universe Today, "We are continuing to try to systematically cover all the regions of the sky where our Planet Nine is located." Using the data from pan-starrs, we can cover the largest area to date. ”
Pan Starrs, which stands for Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, is a cooperative astronomical observing system at the Hallekla Observatory, operated by the University of Hawaii Astronomical Institute, and the telescope construction is funded by the U.S. Air Force.
In this study, the researchers used data from Data Release 2 (DR2) with the aim of narrowing down the possible location of Planet Nine based on past findings.
Eventually, the team narrowed down the possible location of Planet Nine by eliminating about 78% of the possible locations calculated in previous studies.
In addition, the researchers also made an approximate semi-major axis (measured in astronomical units (AU)) and Earth mass sizes of 500 and 6 on planet nine, respectively6 provides new estimates.
So, what are the most important results of this study? What follow-up studies are currently underway or planned?
While I'd love to say that the most important result was the discovery of a ninth planet, we didn't," Dr. Brown told Universe Today. "So that means we've narrowed down our search considerably. We have now surveyed about 80% of the areas where we think Planet Nine might be located. ”
In terms of follow-up research, Dr. Brown told Universe Today, "I think LSST is the most likely investigation to find Planet Nine. When it goes live a year or two later, it will quickly cover most of the search space, and if Planet Nine is there, it will be found. ”
LSST, which stands for Heritage Survey of Space and Time, is an astronomical survey currently planned as a 10-year project at the Vila c. Rubín Observatory in Chile, which is currently under construction.
The objectives of the LSST include research to identify near-Earth asteroids and small planetary bodies within the solar system, but also to include deep space research. These include studying the nature of dark matter and dark energy and the evolution of the Milky Way. But what is the importance of finding Planet 9?
"This will be the fifth-largest planet in our solar system and the only planet with a mass between Earth and Uranus," Dr. Brown told Universe Today. Such planets are common around other stars, and we suddenly have the opportunity to study one in our solar system. ”
Soon after the discovery of Neptune in 1846, scientists began to hypothesize the existence of Planet Nine, which included DA memoir written by Kirkwood in 1880, and a later article written in 1946 by the American astronomer Clyde Tomaugh, who was responsible for the discovery of Pluto in 1930.
Recent studies include those in 2016 and 2017 that provide evidence for the existence of Planet Nine, the former co-authored by Dr. Brown.
This latest study marks the most complete investigation into the reduced position of Planet Nine, which Dr. Brown has long believed exists, telling Universe Today, "There are too many separate indications that Planet Nine is there." Without a ninth planet, it is difficult to understand the solar system. ”
He went on to tell Universe Today, "Planet Nine explains a lot of things about the orbits of the outer solar system bodies that would otherwise be unexplainable, and each one requires some sort of separate explanation.
The direction of the orbit is the clearest, but there are also many objects with very large perihelion distances, the presence of highly inclined or even retrograde objects, and very eccentric orbits with a large number of crossings within Neptune's orbit. None of this is supposed to happen in the solar system, but it could easily be explained by the influence of Planet Nine. ”
Does Planet 9 exist? In the years and decades to come, we will find it in **? Only time will tell, that's why we are scientific!
This article was originally published by Universe Today.