Planet X, or Planet Nine as it has also been known, is a theoretical planet that some astronomers believe could be hiding at the very border of the solar system. If it does exist, it could have a mass about 10 times that of the Earth. Furthermore, it may take between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make one full orbit around the sun. (Related: Does the solar system have a "Planet Nine"? Researchers say it's a possibility.)
"The possibility of a new planet is certainly an exciting one for me as a planetary scientist and for all of us," said Jim Green, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Planetary Science Division.
"This is not, however, the detection or discovery of a new planet. It's too early to say with certainty there's a so-called Planet X. What we're seeing is an early prediction based on modeling from limited observations. It's the start of a process that could lead to an exciting result."
Back in January 2015, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) astronomers Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown provided compelling evidence of a huge planet tracing an unusual, elongated orbit in the outer solar system. They shared comprehensive mathematical modeling and computer simulations, which indicated that a huge object was affecting the unique orbits of at least five smaller objects found in the distant Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt, which is located beyond Neptune's orbit, is believed to be the place where comets, asteroids and other heavenly bodies made of ice come from.
Earlier astronomers have also been searching for Planet X
While Neptune was the last real planet to be discovered in 1846, many theories suggest that another planet might exist beyond the confines of the solar system.
Percival Lowell, a 19th-century travel writer and businessman, proposed several theories about space – including the possibility of Planet X's existence. While he died in 1916 without ever knowing if his theory was true, he left $1 million in his will toward discovering Planet X. The Arizona-based Lowell Observatory established in 1894 kept his theory alive and continued the search for the mysterious planet.
Fourteen years later on Feb. 18, 1930, a young astronomer named Clyde Tombaugh observed a small planet that later turned out to be Pluto. This was mistakenly considered to be Planet X at first.
Pluto lost its planet status 76 years later after being downgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006. Another planet called Eris, which was first discovered in 2005, was also downgraded. The demotion of Pluto and Eris as possible candidates for Planet X rekindled efforts to search the planet.
But physicists Jakub Scholtz and James Unwin proposed a different theory in response to the Caltech astronomers. In 2019, the two said Planet X would be so small that it would be just as big as a bowling ball. They also remarked that the object affecting the Kuiper Belt may actually be something else, such as a black hole, instead of a far-off planet.
Find more space-related stories at Cosmic.news.
Watch this video that talks about the search for the supposed Planet X.
This video is from the Leona Wind channel on Brighteon.com.
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