Astronomers might be about to make a huge discovery: a hidden planet the size of Earth that is hiding in the farthest limits of our solar system citing a possibility of the 10th plant in our solar system in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Tentatively called “Planet Y,” this strange world could change how we think about the Sun’s outermost frontier in a big way. If both Planet Y and the long-theorized “Planet Nine” are confirmed, the solar system’s official planet count could go up to 10.
Researchers have found strange tilts in the orbits of 50 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), which are frozen bodies that orbit beyond Neptune. This could be the gravitational signature of a planet that we can’t see, according to a recent study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Planet Y: Is there an Earth-sized world hidden in the outer solar system?
Amir Siraj, an astrophysicist at Princeton, led the study. It discovered that these far-off Kuiper Belt objects all had an orbital inclination of around 15 degrees, which is hard to explain without saying that another planet is affecting them.
Siraj said, “Our simulations show a rocky world with a mass between Mercury and Earth that orbits about 100 to 200 times farther from the Sun than Earth does.”
If this is accurate, Planet Y would be closer than Planet Nine, the enormous globe that scientists think orbits hundreds of billions of miles beyond Neptune. The presence of both could significantly alter the scientific understanding of our solar system’s design.
Astronomers Are Doubtful
Even though everyone is excited, some astronomers are still being careful. Some people who don’t like the study say that the dataset utilized in it might not be big enough to make strong conclusions.
Astronomer Samantha Lawler said that the data are thin and warned people not to jump to conclusions too quickly:
She stated, “The results are interesting but not conclusive.”
Meanwhile, Patryk Sofia Lykawka, a planetary scientist who has researched trans-Neptunian dynamics for a long time, said that the hypothesis was “possible but needs much stronger evidence.”
In other words, while the gravitational indicators are intriguing, no direct detection of Planet Y has yet been made.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is the key to the puzzle.
Astronomers are now putting their hopes on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a state-of-the-art facility in Chile slated to become fully operational soon. Its 8.4-meter wide-field telescope and incredibly sensitive instruments will scan the whole southern sky every few nights, collecting data that could eventually show that Planet Y does or doesn’t exist.
Siraj said, “The Rubin Observatory will either find the planet itself or get enough Kuiper Belt data to prove that such a planet could exist.”
If Planet Y is found, it would be one of the most important astronomical discoveries of the last hundred years, on par with the finding of Neptune in 1846 and Pluto in 1930.
A New Age of Discovering the Solar System
For decades, scientists have been interested in finding new planets beyond Neptune. There are yet thousands of frozen objects, and maybe even whole planets, hiding in the darkness of the outer solar system. It is still one of the least investigated areas.
The possibilities of finding new worlds are better than ever as telescopes get stronger and sky surveys get more detailed. Planet Y is still just a theory for now, a tantalizing enigma that is almost known.