RESEARCH ON PLANET NINE

RESEARCH ON PLANET NINE

Context:

In an ongoing study of the nine planets in our Solar System, Michael Brown, a CalTech astronomer who led Pluto's descent into the dwarf planet in 2006, co-authored a new that claims to have narrowed the region the potential new planet could be located.

About the Study:

• The study suggests that the "Nine Planet" exists across Neptune and is six times the mass of Earth, according to reports.
• Scientists initially recommended that Pluto be included in a controversial study released in 2016 in which the collection of asteroids and comets and other objects orbiting the sun in the Kuiper Belt promotes the existence of a giant planet.
• A new study includes a “treasure map” of the planet’s likely orbits that scientists may claim to be about 7,400 years old and closer to the Sun than were discovered in 2016.
• A closer orbit to the Sun would make the planet brighter and easier to see.
• Planet Nine may be a cold gas like Neptune, the most famous planet in the Solar System from the Sun. Neptune has an invisible compound mostly composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane, according to NASA.