The possible discovery of a massive ninth planet lingering in the far reaches of our solar system has been called into question via new research which examines how it was found in the first place. The mysterious hypothetical world, dubbed 'Planet Nine,' was proposed by astronomers back in January of 2016 as an explanation for the odd orbits of objects in the Kuiper Belt. The peculiar movements of these bodies, the researchers argued, could be due to the influence of a heretofore-unseen planet three times larger than the Earth.
As one can imagine, the prospect of a giant undiscovered planet with an enormous orbit across the solar system tantalized astronomers who quickly set about trying to find this world. However, in the three years since it was put on the proverbial table, researchers have yet to locate Planet Nine out in space. And now a new explanation has been suggested which seems to upend the theory altogether.
Find out why some scientists now suspect that Planet Nine may not exist at the Coast to Coast AM website.