If it exists, Planet Nine would be a true giant, roughly 5-10 times the mass of Earth, orbiting somewhere between 400-800 times farther from the Sun than our planet does. At such an enormous distance, it would be incredibly faint and nearly impossible to spot with traditional telescope searches that rely on detecting reflected sunlight…
After this meticulous analysis, the researchers identified two candidates. Both objects appear in the predicted location and emit the amount of infrared light that theory suggests Planet Nine should produce. While this doesn’t constitute definitive proof, it represents the most promising lead in the search for our Solar System’s hidden giant.
These discoveries mark an important milestone, but the journey isn’t over. The candidates require follow up observations with more powerful telescopes to confirm whether they’re truly moving in ways consistent with Planet Nine, or whether they’re imposters, perhaps background galaxies or other astronomical objects.
If confirmed, the discovery of Planet Nine would revolutionise our understanding of how our Solar System formed and evolved. It would also demonstrate the power of thinking creatively about astronomical searches, sometimes the best way to find something isn’t to look directly at it, but to feel its warmth instead!