Last month, researchers released controversial findings that suggest the mysterious Planet 9 may not exist after all, after analysis of a four-year survey found that observation bias may have been to blame for data that built the argument in its favor.
But now, a new study has once again revived hopes for a ninth planet lurking within our solar system.
Using a new technique to reduce such biases, astronomers in Spain found that a mysterious object located more than 300 times the distance between the Earth and the sun is, in fact, altering the orbits of objects beyond Neptune.
A new study has once again revived hopes for a ninth planet lurking within our solar system. In the new study, researchers from Complutense University of Madrid used a different approach for search for the mysterious planet, and they say it’s less susceptible to observation bias
THE NEW STUDY
Researchers studied objects called extreme trans-Neptunian objects, located at a distance more than 150 AU and never cross Neptune’s orbit.
The astronomers measured the distances from their nodes, or the two points at which the orbit crosses the plane of the solar system, to the sun.
And, the findings suggest there is a planet lurking in the outer reaches, beyond Pluto.
The researchers found that the nodes of 28 ETNOs investigated in the study are clustered in particular zones.
They also found a correlation between the position of the nodes, and what’s known as inclination.
But, the researchers say there should be no correlation there.
The researchers say these could 'signs of the presence of a planet that is actively interacting with them.'
In the argument for Planet 9, there are many conditions that are critical, including a phenomenon known as ‘clustering,’ in which the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are clustered in space as a result of the massive planet.
The Outer Solar System Origins Survey released last month examined eight patches of the sky from 2013-2017, revealing the presence of more than 800 TNOs – but, after identifying eight TNOs that would be useful to test for a ninth planet, the researchers found no evidence of tight clustering.
This caused some to argue that biases in the data may be to blame for its supposed existence.
In the new study, the researchers from Complutense University of Madrid used a different approach for search for the mysterious planet, and they say it’s less susceptible to observation bias.
The team studied objects known as extreme trans-Neptunian objects, which are located at a distance more than 150 AU and never cross Neptune’s orbit.
Credit to : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4690702/New-study-claims-mysterious-Planet-Nine-DOES-exist.html#ixzz4mfc9pCYk
