Secrets of the Solar System: In Search of the Ninth Planet

Our Solar System is a lively place where millions of objects, from planets to comets and asteroids, move around. Every year, more and more new objects are discovered, typically small asteroids or fast comets that consider the Solar System their home. For example, by 1846, astronomers had already discovered all eight major planets. However, this did not stop humanity from continuing research. In the last 100 years, we have found lesser-known bodies, such as dwarf planets, to which Pluto belongs.

The discovery of some of these dwarf planets has led to the belief that there may be something else hiding on the outskirts of the Solar System, according to ScienceAlert.

The Ninth Planet

There is an important reason why astronomers spend hundreds of hours searching for the ninth planet, known as «Planet 9» or «Planet X», and in ancient Babylonian mythology — Nibiru. This is because the Solar System, as we know it, does not seem complete without it. Every object in our Solar System revolves around the Sun. Some objects move faster, others slower, but all are subject to the laws of gravity. Everything that has mass has gravity, including us. The heavier an object is, the stronger its gravity pulls.

The gravity of a planet is so great that it affects the movement of other objects around it. This is what we call a «gravitational pull.» Earth’s gravitational pull is what keeps everything on its surface. In addition, our Sun has the greatest gravitational force of all objects in the Solar System, and that is why planets revolve around it. It is thanks to our understanding of gravitational pull that we get the best hint about a possible ninth planet.

Unexpected Behavior

When we study very distant objects, such as dwarf planets beyond Pluto, we see that their orbits are slightly unexpected. They move in very large elliptical — oval — orbits, cluster together, and are inclined compared to the rest of the Solar System.

When astronomers used computer models to study what gravitational forces are needed for these objects to move in this way, they found that a planet with a mass at least ten times greater than Earth’s mass is required. But the question arises: where is this planet?

The problem we face now is to confirm the accuracy of these predictions and models. The only way to do this is to find «Planet 9,» which is definitely easier said than done.