Do you really discovered ninth planet in the solar system? – BBC

Image caption Caltech experts believe that Planet Nine might look like.

All life taught us that the Earth has eight planets “neighbors” and that among the nine form the solar system.

A few years ago, in 2006, revolutionized astronomers to confirm our belief that actually the planets of the solar system are only eight , because Pluto is too small to fall within that category.

Now one of the experts responsible for “down” status of Pluto again surprised with a new ad: the end would be nine other planets, since one exists hitherto unknown hidden in the farthest reaches of our system.

The expert of the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Michael Brown published together with his colleague Konstantin Batygin an investigation described the star as a giant ice planet that would be beyond the orbit of Pluto .

According to the study, which was published Wednesday in the journal The Astronomical Journal (The Astronomical Journal), this planet would have a size between five and ten times larger than the Earth.

take between 10,000 and 20,000 years to circle the sun.

But despite providing these details, Brown and Batygin admit that they have never seen such a planet nor there is a reliable record of their presence.

Image copyright NASA

Image caption The scientist who announced the ninth planet is the same that led to Pluto was no longer considered a planet.

The announcement of their existence is based on observations that account for the presence of a “massive disruptive” that affects the path of other objects space.

According to experts, the “disturbing” that this star would have dubbed the “Nine Planet”.

Inference

These smaller space objects that were observed include a series of recently discovered by Brown and other scientists within dwarf planets of the solar system.

Astronomers noticed that the orbits these bodies seem to be influenced by the gravity of a planet hidden

Actually Brown and Batygin were not the first to notice. in 2014 two scientists, Scott Sheppard of the Institute Science Carnegie and Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, made the same observation.

They saw that the orbits of some space bodies go out of their path in the same quadrant of the solar system and are inclined at the same angle.

They attributed to the existence of a large planet whose gravitational field was “pushing” to those objects.

Brown revealed that actually began researching the subject not to confirm this theory but to refute it.

According to the astronomer, whenever strange behaviors are observed orbital typical is attributed to the existence of unknown planets.

Image caption Scientists studied six dwarf planets orbits and concluded that “a disturbing mass” affects their paths.

However, after a huge amount of studies, he and his partner found that Nine Planet theory is the only one that explains the phenomenon .

“Murderer Pluto”

So far Brown was known as one of the men responsible for that Pluto no longer considered a planet.

The discovery of more than 30 among them dwarf planets Eris, a larger than Pluto star led the International Astronomical Union (IAU in English) reclassify its definition of what constitutes a planet . and Pluto relegated to the category of dwarf planet

On Wednesday, Brown tweets which under the nickname plutokiller (murderer Pluto) – said reporters he hoped his new announcement reproach him who claimed to have left the solar system with only eight planets.

That includes his own daughter.

“She keeps half angry with me for the relegation of Pluto, even though he had just been born when it happened, “he told the daily The Washington Post .

” A few years ago suggested that me forgive if I find a new planet, so I guess I’ve worked on this for her “he said.

Rep

But can really it says that a new planet was found?

How reliable is the announcement?

Image caption According to NASA, Brown (l.) and Batygin are distinguished scientists and their observations could lead to effectively finds a ninth planet.

BBC asked him to director Planetary Science Division of the National Administration of Aeronautics and Space of the United States, more known as the NASA .

In an exclusive interview, Jim Green told this newspaper that both Brown and Batygin are highly qualified scientists, leaders in their field .

And stressed the importance of research.

“This is a huge step forward to understand what happens in a region of our system Solar which virtually know nothing, “he said in reference to the objects that are beyond Pluto.

” is a really important point “he said.

However, NASA managers said that will require many more observations to confirm the theory of these experts, since the presence of a ninth planet “can not be the only explanations for what they observed. “

Processes

Adriana Ocampo, head of the New Horizons (New Frontiers) NASA program in 2015 revealed images Pluto never seen before, he told BBC News that it is common planetary discoveries begin with predictions .

“The existence of both Neptune and Pluto was predicted long before they were there first seen, “he said.

Image copyright SPL

Image caption The existence of Neptune and Pluto was also inferred much before they were observed.

However, the expert noted that the announcement of a ninth planet is only one “possibility” and that it becomes a fact The existence of the star must be supported by at least half a dozen space observatories.

In this sense, Ocampo stressed the importance of work released this Wednesday is that you will more scientists are in search of this alleged Planet Nine , which will increase the chances that one be found, if it exists.

The Brown himself said that published his work with that hope.

“If other people astrónomos- -best get excited about the idea of ​​finding Planet Nine maybe we can see it in a couple of years ” he esperanzó.