The Deviating Object in the Kuiper Belt May Be the 10th Planet

US scientists found evidence of the existence of a planet lurking in the Kuiper Belt about the size of Mars. Most likely this is the 10th planet of the solar system.

Key Facts About 10th Planet

According to scientists at the Planetary and Moon Laboratory (LPL) of the University of Arizona, USA, the planet is completely different and much closer to the so-called 9th planet (the existence of This planet is still pending confirmation.

Simulating the orbit of the 10th planet located in the Kuiper Belt.(Photo: LPL.)

Why 10th Planet Matters

Kat Volk and Renu Malhotra, the two authors of the study, said the unexplored planet is about 60 astronomical units (AU), whose mass lies between the mass of Mars and the Earth. Its gravitational force dominates the orbital plane of countless meteorites of the Kuiper Belt (KBOs), located in the icy region outside the solar system.

After analyzing the orbital plane of the 600 bodies in the Kuiper Belt, the researchers found a group of celestial bodies flying around the Sun 8 degrees above the constant plane of the belt, while the celestial another can fly with orbital tilt close to the zodiacal plane. This proves that the existence of a planet with gravitational force is large enough to deflect the movement of these bodies.

Researchers also said that if the 10th planet existed, it was likely that it had reached the outer periphery of the solar system after colliding with another planet. In the future, scientists will continue to investigate and investigate to draw conclusions about the existence of the 10th planet.

The Kuiper belt is also known as the Kha Y belt, the objects of the solar system spread from Neptune's orbit (about 30 AU) to 44 AU from the Sun, orbit close to the zodiacal plane - the geometric plane contains the Earth's Kepler orbit around the Sun.