Centuries of watching the Universe have gone by, and the researchers have managed to combine quite impressive details about our solar system. The Earth is a rocky inner planet, while the other celestial bodies include ice giants, gas giants, and a belt of small icy bodies called the Kuiper belt. The Kuiper belt is situated at the end of the Universe, and it is there where the scientists think that an additional planed is yet to be discovered.
Previous research is showing a glimmer of hope for the planet located beyond Neptune. However, the observations are showing unusual movement in the region, where the distant objects cluster each other. While no scientific explanation has been released until now, some people consider this phenomenon the work of an invisible force.
The primary theory that aims to explain the unexplainable is that the Kuiper Belt hosts a giant planet, commonly referred to as Planet Nine. Scientists believe that Planet Nine is ten times heavier than our planet, which is why it is responsible for attracting the smaller nearby orbiting objects. Other theories suggest that the unidentified object could be a small-sized black hole.
What is even more interesting about the mysterious Planet Nine is that the existence of a large planet in those conditions is quite unusual. James Unwin, a physicist, working for the University of Illinois Chicago, has declared that if Planet Nine is indeed a planet, its location is slightly strange. This is caused by the immense distance between Planet Nine and the Sun since the red dwarf’s gravity, and light weaken throughout the Universe.
Madigan’s simulations managed to demonstrate that the faraway objects and their movements manage to add up. She has declared that Planet Nine is an interesting assumption, located at the edge of what is reasonable. According to her, everything can be explained, and we cannot wait for the researchers to come up with more interesting facts about the area at the end of the Universe.
This study has been published in Popular Science.