Is There Another Planet Out There… And No, It’s Not Pluto
Image courtesy of vectorolie at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
NASA said the idea of a ninth planet being out in the solar system is interesting but still not proven.
The “alleged” planet is about 10 times larger than Earth and orbits the sun. And, it’s lurking near the area of Neptune. While no planet has been found just yet, NASA scientists warned against making such a claim.
Jim Green, NASA director of planetary sciences, said it’s not the discovery of a new planet. It said it’s too soon to say with utmost certainty that there is a “Planet X” on the solar system.
Planet 9 is a representation of a hypothesized space body that’s located about 20 times the distance of Neptune and from the sun. It’s a part of the Kuiper Belt, a region that includes the former ninth planet Pluto.
A paper that was published in The Astronomical Journal for Jan. 20, a massive planet is behind the reasoning of clustering and alignment of six icy bodies in that belt.
California Institute of Technology researchers Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown looked data already compiled on these six objects and completed simulations on the orbits. Based on these simulations, the alignment could be the result of a planet’s gravitational effects.
According to Green, the new research has led to an increased interest in further planetary exploration. It could cause something exciting to occur, he said.
Astronomers said if Planet 9 does exist, spotting it should be easy using telescopes. Astronomers want to get direct observational proof by looking toward the sky where the planet is alleged to be at.
Sophomore engineering student Zach Rinehart said there’s no real evidence of the Planet 9 and said he would call Pluto a planet first.
University of Georgia professor emeritus of astronomy and physics J. Scott Shaw said a search of the skies is liable to bring something interesting up… even if it’s not a planet.
Online News Heard Now
Short URL: http://www.onlinenewsheardnow.com/?p=4042
Posted by