The strongest new evidence for the existence of Planet Nine. Will there be a breakthrough?

At one time, the solar system included nine planets, then it was considered a distinct group Pluto. It was “downgraded” to a dwarf planet in 2006. In contrast, astronomers have been predicting this for decades. There may be another large object beyond Neptune. However, it is likely so distant and has such an unusual orbit that it has not yet been discovered, leading many to believe that such an object simply does not exist.

The mysterious Planet Nine has gained fame in recent years, mainly due to the unusual stories associated with it. Some people sit like this Virtual planet It is supposed to bring disaster to our land, or claim to live on it Alien civilization. Others believe it may also be a giant alien mothership. To date, dozens of different types of theories have been created, whether purely scientific or science fiction.

More than 5,300 exoplanets have been discovered so far (Exoplanets – objects outside our solar system). Therefore, some may be surprised by the fact that astronomers were unable to observe a planet “literally under their noses.”

Researchers point out that documenting planets that are hundreds of millions or billions of kilometers away is a little easier than determining their locations around our sun. By analyzing exoplanets, specialists can notice a decrease in brightness when a particular object passes the disk of its star. This prevents light from reaching our telescopes, that's all Transit method.

However, recording a planet orbiting the Sun is more problematic – the transit method will no longer be used here. Currently, the only ways to document their presence are direct observation or… Recording small disturbances in the orbits of other objects.

In the new study, scientists looked at the long-term motions of objects crossing orbit Neptune. Their nature seems very “strange”. Therefore, the next step to explain this unusual behavior was to create special simulations.

During the research, this was discovered The “only plausible explanation” for these unique behaviors of space objects is the presence of a massive planet outside the orbit of Neptune. Models included, among others: galactic tides, or the gravitational influence of passing stars. Unfortunately, the analyzes do not indicate a specific place to search for the mysterious planet.