In 10 to 15 years, scientists researching at the California Institute of Technology or Caltech are confident in discovering Planet 9, which is 37 billion miles away from the Earth. There are two research papers published that show evidence of this.
Planet Nine has been difficult to study because it is supposedly too far away, beyond the known reaches of the solar system. Its mass is believed to be somewhere between five and ten times bigger than that of the Earth's.
Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown, both Caltech researchers, were the first scientists who provided proof that Planet Nine may exist. Three years ago, they sighted space rocks in the area of the solar system further out, beyond Neptune, which was called the Kuiper Belt. These space rocks were observed to travel in strangely uncommon orbits.
One explanation could be that there was a planet in that vicinity whose gravitational pull was harnessing the objects into its orbit. While Batygin and Brown are convinced this presents substantial evidence of their theory of the existence of Planet Nine, others have tried to offer an alternative explanation, explaining that the occurrence may be explained instead by the presence of icy bodies or debris.
However, Brown and Batygin have since published the aforementioned papers to support their theory of a Planet Nine existing. The two scientists published their findings in The Astronomical Journal. In this paper, the two colleagues provided some computations that calculated the probability of the spectacle that was observed and came up with the ratio of one in 500.
The second paper was published in Physics Reports and dealt with the analysis of hypothetical properties of the supposed Planet Nine. Findings showed that the supposed planet appeared much closer than first worked out.
It could also be smaller than the initial estimate, with the possible mass of the purported planet only five and not ten times that of Earth. As for how far it is from the sun, the distance was worked out to be some 37 billion miles; to compare, the Earth is 93 million miles or so from the sun.
It is said to be the "missing link of planet formation," Batygin announced in a statement
University of Michigan physics professor, Fred Adams said that there are "multiple reasons" for trusting in the existence of Planet Nine. Adams, who is another co-author of the study, remains optimistic that as the years pass, there will be "deeper" and eventually more "sensitive" surveys of the sky.
Juliette Becker who is also one of the study's co-authors declared that she is looking "forward" to finally being able to view Planet Nine or "rule it out."
