"Planet Nine" ..evidence shows that we have a ninth planet in our solar system

[topaz]

Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced Wednesdaythat they have found new evidence of a giant icy planet lurking in the darkness of our solar system far beyond the orbit of Pluto. They are calling it "Planet Nine."

Link to the Article

 

[Buzz]

Thanks for posting. They are just now discovering this?!

 

[peibeck]

I love nerdy science stuff like this, very exciting!!!

 

[Simone411]

It's at The Planetary Society, also, along with a video;

Theoretical Evidence for Planet 9

 

[MR-FAN]

Thanks for posting. They are just now discovering this?!

It's really really REALLY far away.

But it's a gas giant. Gas planets are boring, we can never live there

 

[CantALoop]

I think they said it was probably a "Super Earth" about 10x Earth's mass, not a gas giant...but the gravity would kill us anyway if we tried to colonize it

 

[Spareoom]

Whatever; I wanna grow potatoes on Mars first.

 

[Sassafras]

I still think Pluto was robbed!

 

[MR-FAN]

I think they said it was probably a "Super Earth" about 10x Earth's mass, not a gas giant...but the gravity would kill us anyway if we tried to colonize it

Ah! At CBC they called it a gas giant: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/technology/9th-planet-x-1.3412070

I still think Pluto was robbed!

Apparently the guy who got Pluto off the planets list is one of the discoverers of this new Planet. And he's trending on Twitter right now as #PlutoKiller

 

[barbk]

I still think Pluto was robbed!

Me too. A friend is one of the scientists on the New Horizon project and the large screen images of Pluto are amazing. As far as I am concerned, it is a planet to me. This is the poster I'm going to glom: http://www.tylernordgren.com/new-products-1/pluto-planetary-park

 

[Vagabond]

I hope that when they name it, they gave it a nice female name. Like Claire.

 

[Simone411]

Or maybe even Planet Katniss or Planet Everdeen. Maybe even Planet Katniss Everdeen.

 

[Vash01]

I still think Pluto was robbed!

Agreed. I read that there are many planets (small and smaller) like Pluto in our solar system. What if this 9th planet is no larger than Pluto? If they accept this as a planet, that would be very unfair to Pluto.

 

[Simone411]

I didn't like it much, either, when they decided Pluto wasn't our Ninth Planet anymore. Unofficially, I still consider Pluto the ninth planet. This new "planet" will be the 10th planet or Planet X as far as I'm concerned. The B-52's got it right when they mentioned Planet X in their song, Whammy Kiss.

Of course, I like the idea that @Vagabond has about naming it Planet Claire.

 

[IceAlisa]

Thanks for posting. They are just now discovering this?!

That was my reaction too.

 

[Skittl1321]

Agreed. I read that there are many planets (small and smaller) like Pluto in our solar system. What if this 9th planet is no larger than Pluto? If they accept this as a planet, that would be very unfair to Pluto.

It seems they are thinking this new planet will be massive, so it is likely larger than Pluto.


The issue isn't that Pluto is small, it's that it is about the same size as the other objects around it. If this new object isn't sufficiently gravitationally dominant, then it will probably also be classified as a dwarf planet like Pluto is. Any new planet will have to meet the definition of the planet.

I think it's amazing they are just now discovering this. Even more amazing if it is truly a planet (since they haven't actually found it yet.)

 

[barbk]

It is way, way, way out there. It's orbit is estimated at 20,000 earth years.

 

[Simone411]

They've also discussed Nibiru or Planet X for years and it's never been seen. Isn't it the "doomsday" planet whose path will suddenly cross with Earth's causing it to go off course and we go flying out into the outer limits of the universe to never be seen again.

 

[Johnny_Fever]

I hope that when they name it, they gave it a nice female name. Like Claire.

Since its cold there, Katarina would be appropriate.

 

[meggonzo]

David Bowie dies and now they are finding a new planet? Hmmm...

 

[Kasey]

Oh come on! Of course it will need to be named "Planet nine, from outer space"!