At the moment, our solar system has eight known planets, but what if there is a ninth planet hiding in our solar system that we have yet to observe.
The general chances that this is so are in favor of the New Planet not existing, however, a new study has presented evidence to suggest that there is “something” out there that is causing a gravitational phenomenon. Astronomers have observed objects in the Kuiper belt (KBO) and have noticed that, instead of being in random motion, they are in groups, regardless of the classifications of the objects.
This observation of the KBO cluster leads researchers to believe that there is an undiscovered celestial body with a significant mass that causes a gravitational anomaly. In 2016, researchers came to this same conclusion when they published a study that calculated that the undiscovered celestial body had a mass of about five from Earth and was approximately ten times the distance between Neptune and the Sun. However, astronomers looked for this new planet that could not be found.
Now, a new study aimed at mitigating criticism from the 2016 study has published new evidence suggesting that there is only a 0.4% chance that KBO concentration could have passed without a body celestial with a significant mass involved, such as a planet. Ultimately, the discussion about the existence of the New Planet remains open, and hopefully astronomers will be able to put the debate to bed once the James Webb Space Telescope is launched and operational.