Planet 9: The Mysterious Hidden Planet

In the depths of the Solar System, there might be a planet called Planet 9. Astronomers haven’t discovered it yet, but there is hard evidence of it. So, what are its possible properties?

The Evidence of its Existence

Well, we’d like to know about the clues supporting Planet 9 before talking about its features.

In the image above, we can see that most ETNOs (Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects) are tilted to one side, but not the other. Their puzzling orbits amazed astronomers and make them think there’s another gravitational monster out there, on the edges of the Solar System. Furthermore, the combination is rarely random.

However, be careful that it doesn’t mean that it’s confirmed yet; Planet 9 is theoretical at this point, and astronomers haven’t directly observed them previously.

Potential Features

Well, if its existence is actual, what are its characteristics? According to some surveys, Planet 9 may be worth 5 to 10 Earth masses. That’s quite massive, right? It’s also incredibly far from the Sun: 20 times as distant to our star as Neptune. That means that the object takes anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 Earth years to accomplish one revolution. Hence its location, the planet is probably colder than the chilliest exoplanet we found so far.

A Black Hole?

Although early observations said the new object is obviously a planet, astronomers now doubt it. Many people imagine that Planet 9 is actually a Black Hole, the size of a ball. Yes, black holes are so dense that a coin-sized black hole has the entire Earth’s mass. After all, it might be a mysterious Primordial Black Hole, which we haven’t discovered yet.

We have sensitive telescopes, but we can’t observe Planet 9 yet, which is also a significant indication. Remember that a black hole doesn’t emit any radiation except Hawking Radiation? Thus, there’s a chance that we can’t uncover the secrets of the mysterious celestial object in a short time.

Is the Existence False Altogether?

It turns out that astronomers can still hesitate about Planet 9’s existence until they see them directly. For example, we might’ve only discovered a teeny tiny portion of ETNOs, with the steep direction being a pure coincidence. Our methods and directions of TNO surveys can also affect the outcome, possibly leading to a fake theory.

What’s more, it’s hard to fit a massive ninth planet into the current model of the Solar System’s formation. You can argue that’s a planet being kicked out by Jupiter or is captured, but it’s not easier to address that.

Conclusion

So, here’s a brief introduction to Planet 9, the mysterious hidden planet, and its features. We also discussed the existence of this object and the disputation between a planet and a black hole, or if it exists or not.

References and Credits

1. (2019, December 19). In Depth | Hypothetical Planet X – NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/hypothetical-planet-x/in-depth/
2. (2017, October 4). Planet Nine – NASA Exoplanets. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/blog/1460/planet-nine/
3. (2020, July 15). Is Planet Nine a black hole or a planet? Harvard scientists suggest a way to find out – Astronomy Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://astronomy.com/news/2020/07/is-planet-nine-a-black-hole-or-a-planet-harvard-scientists-suggest-a-way-to-find-out
4. (2020, June 16). Does Planet Nine really exist? | Space. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://www.space.com/does-planet-nine-exist.html