When can we determine the position of the '9th planet' in the solar system?

The " hidden " days of the ninth planet are not observed when lying in the dark depths outside the solar system that can be counted. " The giant planetary hypothesis is thought to be 10 times more massive than the planet Earth, which will be explored over a period of 16 months or longer, " astronomer Mike Brown predicts.

Artwork "the ninth planet" - planet 10 times more massive than the Earth has not been identified outside the solar system.Photo source: Caltech / R. Hurt (IPAC).

" I think it falls late in the winter - not this winter, but next winter - someone will find it . In fact, someone will look for them this way ," Brown said. speaking at a press conference on Wednesday (October 19) at a meeting of the Planetary Science Division of the American Astronomical Society (American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences - DPS-EPSC) and Congress. European Planetary Science Congress in Pasadena, California. Brown said: " Recently 8 to 10 groups are participating in this 9th planet search ". [Image of the 9th planet in our solar system]

The researchers say: " The extraordinary distance trajectory of objects in the Kuiper belt will help determine the existence of an unidentified planet orbiting the Sun ".

Photo source: Graphic designer - Karl Tate

At the next " DPS-EPSC meeting, we will discuss findings about the 9th planet, rather than just searching for it, " said Brown, who works at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. .

That will be a fairly fast path from the fake planet to the defined planet. The existence of the ninth planet was officially proposed for the first time in 2014, by the Carnegie astronomer Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo, of the Carnegie Science Institute in Washington, DC, and the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.

The astronomers Sheppard and Trujillo noted that: " Sedna dwarf planet - the newly discovered VP113 in 2012 and some other planets outside Pluto also have some strange trajectory traits, will there is a reasonable inclusion if the planets' path in space is determined by a giant, unspecified planet in the region . "

" The fake planet weighs two to 15 times more than Earth and lies hundreds of astronomical units (astronomical units - AU), " the researchers said. (AU is the distance between the Sun and Earth, about 150 million kilometers or 93 million miles.)

This explanation was made in January this year by Brown and colleague Caltech, astronomer Konstantin Batygin - who found evidence of the effect of the " strange planet " in the orbit of distant objects. than. " 9th planet ", such as Batygin and Brown, nicknamed the planetary planet, is capable of 10 Earth's masses and orbits follow the elliptical aura about 1,000 AU (the longest distance from the Face). heaven), the researchers said. (Based on observations, Pluto is only about 49.3 AU calculated from the Sun at the far-sighted point).

Evidence of the existence of the ninth planet continues to be studied and explored in the past nine months. Different research groups have determined that " The trajectory of other small, distant objects appears to be quite well defined ."

A research group, led by Renu Malhotra of the University of Arizona, discussed four similar objects at the DPS / EPSC meeting on Wednesday (October 19). And Brown's team, headed by Elizabeth Bailey of Caltech, announced at a meeting on Tuesday (October 18): " The 9th planet seems to have tilted the orbit of all eight official planets. "about 6 degrees above the Sun".

" The 9th planetary research continues, including efforts to redefine the planet's existence in the sky. This is an important part of the search effort, by work". Blind search "of an object far away, with an extremely large elliptical orbit, will rarely have a chance to succeed in the near future ," Brown said.

" It is possible that the ninth planet is currently at or near the periphery, about 1,000 AU from the sun, with a square angle of about 400 degrees ," Brown said.

" Astronomers say the 9th planet is four times more capable than Earth, an object that is easily observed by professional devices if it is relatively close to the Earth. In addition, the Crystal has elliptical orbits that take a long time to move close to the focal point, because they move the slowest at this part of the entire distance , "Brown explained.

" An object 4 times larger than Earth, located at 1,000 AU will have a magnitude of about +25 light ranges of astronomers, " Brown added.

" Huge telescopes are completely observable. I think the Subaru telescope is at the top of Mauna Kea mountain, [Hawaii] - Japanese national telescope - is the main device for real use. However, many others will have smart ideas, as well as use telescopes to determine the location of the ninth planet, "Brown said.

So in the end, which research group will find the ninth planet? Brown is not sure of this.

" There are many scientists participating in the search for the ninth planet, and we are trying our best to provide information about the location of this giant planet. Because we are also looking forward to finding it soon. "Brown said.