\n<\/p>\n
Batygin and Brown\u2019s models suggest that Planet Nine may have a mass about 10 times that of Earth and be similar in size to Uranus or Neptune. The predicted orbit is about 20 times farther from our Sun on average than Neptune, taking between 10,000 and 20,000 years to orbit the Sun. Neptune, by comparison, completes an orbit roughly every 165 years.<\/p>\n
Although the theorized ninth planet has not yet been directly observed, the search continues.<\/p>\n
Batygin and Brown\u2019s team, along with other researchers, have used computer simulations to refine their search. By simulating objects in the outer Solar System, plugging in varying parameters for a potential Planet Nine, and then letting simulated gravity run its course over billions of years, the team can see whether that particular Planet Nine would affect those objects in a way that matches how ETNOs\u2019 orbits have been perturbed. These simulations have ruled out about 78 percent of the sections of space Planet Nine might have been lurking.<\/p>\n
Planet Nine hunters are now combing through observational data from advanced telescopes to look for signs of a large planet in the remaining search area, including NASA\u2019s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Brown and Batygin also plan to use data from the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time sky survey from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.<\/p>\n
If a ninth planet is someday discovered, the\u00a0person who discovers it will get to choose its name, as long as\u00a0that name is\u00a0approved by the International Astronomical Union.\u00a0Planets have traditionally been named after mythological Roman gods.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The possibilities for naming features on its surface, like mountains, craters, and even individual rocks,\u00a0could be much more creative.\u00a0For example,\u00a0mountains on Saturn’s moon\u00a0Titan are named after mountains from Middle-earth, the fictional setting of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings<\/em> novels, and craters on Mercury are named after influential artists, authors, and musicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n The existence of an undiscovered planet isn\u2019t the only possible explanation for the movements of ETNOs. Gravitational effects could be caused by clusters of objects rather than one big one, or by a very distant small black hole. We might also just not know enough about ETNOs to really know what\u2019s happening with them. This was the case with Uranus and Neptune back in the early days of Planet X speculation.<\/p>\n Whatever the case may be, we\u2019ll only find out whether Planet X\/Planet Nine exists by studying space.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAlternative explanations<\/h2>\n