In case you haven’t heard, researchers at the California Institute of Technology have found compelling evidence for the existence of a new planet in our solar system.  Dubbed “Planet Nine”, the large body (about 10 times the mass of Earth) has not been seen or detected by any camera (that we know of), but is strongly believed to exist because of its affect on other bodies.

Planet Nine orbits the Sun at an average distance of 2.8 billion miles – far beyond the distance to Neptune, the most distant of the currently known 8 planets, or even the dwarf planet, Pluto.  At that distance, its orbital period (how long it takes to go around the Sun) is on the order of 20,000 years.  And while these parameters seem very unusual for our solar system, they and other parameters of Planet Nine are actually quite common according to our current understanding and observation of exo-planets (planets around other stars).

And unlike Pluto, this seems to be a very legitimate planet.  It is large, very probably round, and dominates its orbital path.  So if you are emotionally attached the idea of there being nine planets around our Sun, this could be seen as good news.  If you are emotionally attached to the ninth planet being Pluto, not so much!

Watch the video on the CalTech web site (https://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-researchers-find-evidence-real-ninth-planet-49523) for a good discussion of the find.