planet nine

Astronomers Discover Potential Dwarf Planet Lurking Way Beyond Pluto

Named Ammonite, the distant object casts doubt on the existence of the elusive Planet Nine.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Jul 16

New Minor Planet Spotted Past Pluto, One of the Largest Distant Objects in the Solar System

The surprisingly large world has a massive orbit—about 838 times Earth’s distance from the Sun.

Space & Spaceflight Isaac Schultz May 22

Astronomers Found a Planet Nine Candidate—But It’s in the Wrong Place

Using two infrared space telescopes and a 23-year gap, scientists may have spotted a mysterious, slow-moving object beyond Neptune.

Space & Spaceflight Isaac Schultz Apr 30

A 1980s Space Telescope May Have Seen Planet Nine

Observations by the first infrared space telescope saw something weird beyond Uranus.

Space & Spaceflight Isaac Schultz Nov 16

Astrophysicists Suggest New Place Where Planet Nine Could Be Hiding

The theorized extra planet in our solar system remains out of sight but not out of mind.

Space & Spaceflight Isaac Schultz Sep 3

Does Our Sun Have a Long-Lost Twin?

The strange configuration of material in the outer reaches of our solar system has led a team of scientists to speculate that the Sun had a companion during its early days. Intriguingly, this scenario could explain the presence of the hypothesized Planet Nine, should it actually exist. Our Sun’s hypothetical twin is long gone, but…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Aug 18

Astronomers Have a Plan to Detect a Possible Black Hole in Our Solar System

You may have heard about Planet Nine—a hypothetical planet thought to exist in the outer reaches of the solar system. One possibility is that it’s not a planet at all but a tiny black hole. New research outlines a potential strategy for detecting this supposed black hole, in a search that could begin as early…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jul 10

Say There Were a Black Hole in Our Solar System: How Would We Find It?

Last year, scientists published a paper with an iconic diagram: a black circle representing, to scale, a 5-solar-mass black hole—and the size of the hypothetical Planet Nine if it were a black hole instead of a planet. So, if Planet Nine really is a black hole, how would we find it? Physicist Edward Witten, famed…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum May 2

What If Planet Nine Is a Bowling Ball-Size Black Hole?

Some of the most distant rocks in our solar system act in a way that suggests there’s some massive object out there we haven’t been able to see. A planet? Maybe. But why not a small black hole? That’s a scenario a pair of scientists describe in a new paper. Of course, they recognize that…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum Sep 27

Is the Elusive ‘Planet Nine’ Actually a Massive Ring of Debris in the Outer Solar System?

The odd orbital arrangements of objects beyond Neptune have led scientists to speculate about the existence of a so-called Planet Nine—a hypothetical large planet in the outer reaches of the Solar System. New research suggests a planet isn’t required to achieve the anomalous orbits, and that a massive ring of debris is a more plausible…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jan 22

Discovery of ‘Goblin’ Solar System Object Bolsters the Case for Planet Nine

Astronomers have discovered an object, dubbed “the Goblin,” in the outer reaches of the Solar System. The dwarf planet never gets any closer to the Sun than 6 billion miles, but experts say its orbital configuration points to the existence of a much larger, more distant planet —the elusive Planet Nine. The Goblin, or 2015…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Oct 2

Space Rock Discovery Boosts Evidence for Planet Nine

I’m sorry, but Pluto sucks and I’m glad it’s not a planet anymore. It’s smaller than our Moon, and it’s about the same size as several other distant, rocky solar system objects. Have you ever seen the way it orbits alongside its partner, Charon? Classifying it as a planet in the first place was a…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum May 17

A Mysterious Mars-Sized Object Could Be Hiding at the Edge of Our Solar System

It’s been about 11 years since Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status, leaving a 1,473 mile (2,370 kilometers)-size void in our hearts. Since then, the hunt for Planet X—aptly renamed Planet 9—has grown into an international movement to find such an object in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune’s orbit. Now, scientists Kat Volk and…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta Jun 22

Planet Nine Just Got An Unexpected New Team of Hunters

Since Pluto was infamously demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006, some astronomers have turned their attention to finding the true Planet 9, a hypothetical, Neptune-sized world that orbits the Sun at least a few hundred times further out than Earth. While there’s no shortage of ideas about what Planet 9 could look like—or what…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta Feb 16

Our Sun May Have Snatched Planet 9 From Outside the Solar System

Those with a Pluto-the-planet-shaped void in their hearts have been eagerly following updates about Planet 9, a hypothetical world thought to be 10 times more massive than Earth and roughly 1,000 astronomical units (AU) away from the Sun. While there are naysayers aplenty, new research validates believers — and delivers some unexpected news about the…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta Jan 11

Planet Nine Just Got Weirder

If Planet 9 exists, it’s been through one hell of an ordeal. That’s the takeaway from a series of new studies that ask how in the name of Uranus a planet could have gotten itself into such a whacked-out orbit. This in turn might help explain the unlikely orbits of half a dozen Kuiper Belt…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone May 4

The Best Guess at What ‘Planet Nine’ Looks Like

The astronomical community is abuzz with the possibility that a ninth planet exists in the far reaches of the solar system. A new study by European scientists imagines what this hypothetical planet might look like, revealing important insights as to how we might actually find it. To quickly recap, astronomers haven’t actually proven the existence…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Apr 8

How Astronomers Are Going to Find Planet Nine

Ten years ago, billions of humans had their worldview upended when a group of astronomers announced that the solar system only contains eight planets. Now, the same guys are trying to rewrite our childhood mnemonics once again. A ninth planet may exist after all, and it isn’t Pluto. In January, Caltech’s Konstantin Batygin and Mike…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Apr 7

planet nine

Astronomers Discover Potential Dwarf Planet Lurking Way Beyond Pluto

New Minor Planet Spotted Past Pluto, One of the Largest Distant Objects in the Solar System

Astronomers Found a Planet Nine Candidate—But It’s in the Wrong Place

A 1980s Space Telescope May Have Seen Planet Nine

Astrophysicists Suggest New Place Where Planet Nine Could Be Hiding

Does Our Sun Have a Long-Lost Twin?

Astronomers Have a Plan to Detect a Possible Black Hole in Our Solar System

Say There Were a Black Hole in Our Solar System: How Would We Find It?

What If Planet Nine Is a Bowling Ball-Size Black Hole?

Is the Elusive ‘Planet Nine’ Actually a Massive Ring of Debris in the Outer Solar System?

Discovery of ‘Goblin’ Solar System Object Bolsters the Case for Planet Nine

Space Rock Discovery Boosts Evidence for Planet Nine

A Mysterious Mars-Sized Object Could Be Hiding at the Edge of Our Solar System

Planet Nine Just Got An Unexpected New Team of Hunters

Our Sun May Have Snatched Planet 9 From Outside the Solar System

Planet Nine Just Got Weirder

The Best Guess at What ‘Planet Nine’ Looks Like

How Astronomers Are Going to Find Planet Nine

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