Planet Nine: Neptune-Sized, Remote, Rocky-Cored Successor to Pluto

Summary: Astronomers at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena must detect where Neptune-sized, remote, rocky-cored Planet Nine is in their projected orbit.

distant view from Planet Nine back toward the sun ~ Planet Nine is thought to be gaseous, similar to Uranus and Neptune. Hypothetical lightning lights up night side; credit Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC): No usage restrictions, via EurekAlert!

Astronomers are considering whether the otherwise strange behaviors of six Kuiper Belt objects indicate the presence of Planet Nine, according to an article published online Jan. 20, 2016, in The Astronomical Journal.

The distinctly elliptical objects of six bodies past the dwarf planet Sedna bear upon one quadrant of the solar system and tilt at the same angle. Computer simulations and mathematical models of the sextet as satellites of a planet cannot explain the orientation, shape or tilt of the Kuiper Belt six’s orbit. But computer simulations and mathematical models of the Kuiper Belt six as the neighbors of Planet Nine do yield “a beautiful match to the real data.”

Astronomers expect to find a Neptune-sized planet.

Searches for yet another planet follow discoveries of the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud of asteroids and comets and testing of Bode’s and Kepler’s planetary laws.

Michael E. Brown, astronomer at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena and co-author, gets International Astronomical Union honors for co-discovering Eris Jan. 5, 2005. The discovery of the more massive minor planet has immediate consequences in the IAU’s decision Aug. 24, 2006, to demote Pluto to dwarf status. Dr. Brown indicates that Pluto resembles Eris and other Kuiper Belt objects more than planets: “A full-fledged planet must be the gravitational bully of its orbit.”

The discoveries of Sedna and of Sedna-like objects join to suggest Planet Nine.

Johann Bode's (Jan, 19, 1747-Nov. 23, 1826) planetary distance guidelines keep somewhat accurately predictable consistency with Johannes Kepler's (Dec. 27, 1571-Nov. 15, 1630) planetary motion laws.

They lead to predictively equating for each solar system planet the astronomical unit distance from the sun cubed to the revolution time around the sun squared. They somewhat match Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, main asteroid belt, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus with 0.4, 0.7, 1.0, 1.6, 2.8, 5.2, 10.5 and 19.6 astronomical-unit distances. Their predictability needs to be re-examined beyond Uranus since Neptune falls short of the predicted 38.8 astronomical units from the sun, as does Pluto of 77.2.

The minor planet Sedna instead offers verification of bodily presences shy of 77.2.

The extension of Bode’s law beyond its original numbers, to each of which 4 is added and into which 10 is divided, predicts widely distanced planets.

Konstantin Batygin, co-author and professor at Caltech, and Dr. Brown quantify 255.16 to 1,075.78 astronomical-unit (20 to 60 billion-mile; 32,186,880,000.0173 to 160,934,400,000.0865-kilometer) distances for Planet Nine. They reference a 10,000- to 20,000-year orbit around the sun by a rocky-cored planet with a mass 10 times that of Earth and a thick atmosphere.

Dr. Brown states: “We have pretty good constraints on its orbit. What we don’t know is where it is in its orbit, which is too bad.” He thinks that it may take four more years to find Planet Nine.

Planet Nine's orbit explains mysterious features of other orbits ~ Six most distant known objects in solar system with orbits exclusively beyond Neptune (magenta) all mysteriously line up in a single direction. Also, when viewed in three dimensions, they all have nearly identical tilts away from solar system's plane. Caltech researchers Batygin and Brown show that a planet with 10 times Earth's mass in a distant eccentric orbit anti-aligned with the other six objects (orange) is necessary to maintain this configuration. Diagram created using WorldWide Telescope; credit Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC): No usage restrictions, via EurekAlert!

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

distant view from Planet Nine back toward the sun ~ Planet Nine is thought to be gaseous, similar to Uranus and Neptune. Hypothetical lightning lights up night side; credit Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC): No usage restrictions, via EurekAlert! @ https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/697392; (EurekAlert! news release @ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/769915); (former URL @ http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/107124.php?from=316774)

Planet Nine's orbit explains mysterious features of other orbits ~ Six most distant known objects in solar system with orbits exclusively beyond Neptune (magenta) all mysteriously line up in a single direction. Also, when viewed in three dimensions, they all have nearly identical tilts away from solar system's plane. Caltech researchers Batygin and Brown show that a planet with 10 times Earth's mass in a distant eccentric orbit anti-aligned with the other six objects (orange) is necessary to maintain this configuration. Diagram created using WorldWide Telescope; credit Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC): No usage restrictions, via EurekAlert! @ https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/697393; (EurekAlert! news release @ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/769915); (former URL @ http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/107125.php?from=316774

For further information:

Achenbach, Joel; and Rachel Feltman. 20 January 2016. “New Evidence Suggests a Ninth Planet Lurking at the Edge of the Solar System.” The Washington Post > Speaking of Science.
Available @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/01/20/new-evidence-suggests-a-ninth-planet-lurking-at-the-edge-of-the-solar-system/

AFP. 21 January 2016. “’Ninth Planet’ May Have Been Found – Researchers.” The Manila Times > News.
Available @ http://www.manilatimes.net/ninth-planet-may-have-been-found-researchers/240605/

Agence France-Presse. 21 January 2016. “’Ninth Planet’ May Exist in Solar System: US Scientists.” Interaksyon.
Available @ http://www.interaksyon.com/article/123035/ninth-planet-may-exist-in-solar-system-us-scientists

Associated Press. 20 January 2016. Updated 21 January 2016. “Planet X? 9th Planet, Beyond Pluto, May Exist, New Study Suggests.” CBC News > Technology & Science.
Available @ http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/9th-planet-x-1.3412070

Batygin, Konstantin; and Michael E. Brown. 20 January 2016. “Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System.” The Astronomical Journal 151(2): 1-12. dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22
Available @ http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22/pdf

Caltech. 20 January 2016. "Evidence of a Ninth Planet." YouTube.
Available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6poHQ2h00ZA

Caltech @Caltech. 20 January 2016. "Caltech researchers @Plutokiller and @kbatygin find evidence of a real ninth planet. #PlanetNine #Astronomy." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Caltech/status/689849894463365120

“Caltech Researchers Find Evidence of a Real Ninth Planet.” Caltech > News & Events > Latest News > Research News > 01/20/2016.
Available @ https://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-researchers-find-evidence-real-ninth-planet-49523

Chang, Kenneth. 20 January 2016. “Ninth Planet May Exist beyond Pluto, Scientists Report.” The New York Times > Space & Cosmos.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/science/space/ninth-planet-solar-system-beyond-pluto.html?_r=0

Crugnale, James. 20 January 2016. “Ninth Planet May Exist Beyond Pluto.” Weather > Space.
Available @ http://www.weather.com/science/space/news/ninth-planet-may-exist-beyond-pluto

Drake, Nadia. 20 January 2016. “Scientist Find Evidence for Ninth Planet in Solar System.” National Geographic > News.
Available @ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/150119-new-ninth-planet-solar-system-space/

Dunn, Marcia. 20 January 2016. “Scientists: Good Evidence for 9th Planet in Solar System.” Redwood Falls Gazette > News.
Available @ http://www.redwoodfallsgazette.com/article/ZZ/20160120/SHAREABLE/160129980/-1/news

Fesenmaier, Kim. 20 January 2016. “Researchers Find Evidence of a Real Ninth Planet.” Phys.Org > Astronomy & Space > Astronomy.
Available @ http://phys.org/news/2016-01-evidence-real-ninth-planet.html

Hand, Eric. 20 January 2016. “Astronomers Say a Neptune-Sized Planet Lurks beyond Pluto.” Science > News > Latest News.
Available @ http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system

Huff, Steve. 20 January 2016. “Scientists May Have Discovered a Mysterious Ninth Planet in Our Solar System.” Maxim > News.
Available @ http://www.maxim.com/news/mystery-ninth-planet-2016-1