Astronomers have found evidence for a 9th planet in our solar system, and it isn’t Pluto! The mysterious planet “X” is estimated to be 10 times the size of the Earth, and would orbit the sun every 15,000 years. Although there has been speculation for years about the existence of another planet hiding beyond Neptune, the scientists at the California Institute of Technology say this is the strongest evidence yet. They observed 6 objects past the orbit of Neptune that were clustered together with strange elliptical orbits. They say the chance of this orbiting cluster occurring without the influence of a large unseen planet is about 1 in 15,000. Researchers are continuing a visual search for Planet X using some of the largest telescopes on earth in the hopes that they will find visual evidence to back up their claim. A new planet would be an exciting addition to our solar system, and would help explain the movements of comets and other celestial objects. While the scientists continue searching for evidence of Planet X’s gravitational pull, I hope we will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it in our telescope.

Want to learn more? Visit http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system

Jan 22, 2016