There has been a lot of back and forth about the existence of a mysterious ninth planet, often referred to as “Planet Nine” or even “Planet X.” Now, though, researchers say there is likely at least a 40% chance that Planet Nine actually exists.
The new research is published in the journal Nature Astronomy, and it posits that due to the way planets form, it is entirely possible that a ninth planet might exist somewhere beyond the reaches we’ve explored within our solar system.
A lot of back and forth
We have been debating about the existence of Planet Nine since Pluto was demoted. Researchers have debunked the theory multiple times, but we keep looking for evidence. Most recently, researchers said they may have found evidence of a mysterious ninth planet. But the exact proof we’ve been looking for has still eluded astronomers.
Now, new research furthers the possibility that Planet Nine is real by looking at how the planets within our solar system formed billions of years ago. According to the researchers, it is entirely possible that any planets that formed beyond our known eight could have been ejected outward into the solar system, far beyond the orbit of Neptune.
In fact, there are several objects out there with even more elongated orbits than Neptune and our outer planets. This is why the existence of Planet Nine has always been such a hot topic among astronomers. But this new study goes beyond just saying it could exist, and actually says that based on the data, there is a 40% chance that it exists, if all the right circumstances were met.
Those aren’t exactly the highest of odds, of course. But it’s a nice change of pace for those that have been fighting to prove the existence of Planet Nine for years. The hope now is that future space telescopes will be able to dive deeper into the depths of our solar system and potentially prove the existence of this ninth planet (and maybe even more) once and for all.
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