Scientists have been looking for Planet Nine for quite some time now. For years it has been debated that another planet lives in the solar system. But no one has been able to find it. There have been advocates for it and against it.&nbsp;

But going by data gathered in the past few years, a ninth planet is likely to be lurking somewhere.&nbsp;

Gravitational anomalies along with unusual orbital patterns in the Kuiper Belt have triggered debate over the existence of Planet Nine. NASA is developing a new telescope that can survey the entire night sky. It will be ready by end of 2025 and can determine whether Planet Nine exists or not.

Researchers of a study said a few months back that they had found the strongest evidence yet that a planet is hiding in the solar system and might be the Planet Nine they have been looking for. They say this planet is likely located in the Kuiper Belt.&nbsp;

It is small and only has a mass between 1.5 and 3 times that of Earth. However, they are not sure of its composition and say it can be anything - &nbsp;an icy, rocky Earth, or a super-Pluto.&nbsp;

They believe that its large mass means that it probably has great internal energy and could even sustain subsurface oceans. "Its orbit would be very distant, much beyond Neptune, and much more inclined compared to the known planets," Patryk Sofia Lykawka, associate professor of Planetary Sciences at Kindai University in Japan and co-author of the study, said.

<h2>Past theories about Planet Nine</h2>

The search for Planet Nine has been on since 2014 when Konstantin Batygin and Michael Brown stated that a planet bigger than Earth and one that humans haven't found till now might be roaming somewhere in the solar system.&nbsp;

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The two scientists strongly believe that the planet is altering the paths of distant bodies in the Kuiper Belt. According to them, it is a "super-Earth" and about five to seven times the mass of our planet.&nbsp;

<h2>Strange orbits of objects in Kuiper Belt</h2>

Several other astronomers in the past have also presented the theory that something is affecting the orbits of several known trans-Neptunian objects.

Before Brown and Batygin proposed that a body is affecting objects in the Kuiper Belt, an astronomer named Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo noticed that several known trans-Neptunian objects have strangely clustered orbits.

"Since Neptune was successfully discovered in 1846, at least 30 astronomers have proposed the existence of various types of trans-Neptunian objects and have always been wrong," Batygin, a professor of Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology, said.

Meanwhile, there are other who believe that the strange orbits are being caused by a primordial black hole that was created just after the big bang. Our solar system likely captured it as it moved across the galaxy.

Scientists have been looking for Planet Nine for quite some time now. For years it has been debated that another planet lives in the solar system. But no one has been able to find it.

Scientists have been looking for Planet Nine for quite some time now. For years it has been debated that another planet lives in the solar system. But no one has been able to find it. There have been advocates for it and against it. But going by data gathered in the past few years, a ninth planet is likely to be lurking somewhere. Gravitational anomalies along with unusual orbital patterns in the Kuiper Belt have triggered debate over the existence of Planet Nine. NASA is developing a new telescope that can survey the entire night sky. It will be ready by end of 2025 and can determine whether Planet Nine exists or not. Researchers of a study said a few months back that they had found the strongest evidence yet that a planet is hiding in the solar system and might be the Planet Nine they have been looking for. They say this planet is likely located in the Kuiper Belt. It is small and only has a mass between 1.5 and 3 times that of Earth. However, they are not sure of its composition and say it can be anything - an icy, rocky Earth, or a super-Pluto. They believe that its large mass means that it probably has great internal energy and could even sustain subsurface oceans. "Its orbit would be very distant, much beyond Neptune, and much more inclined compared to the known planets," Patryk Sofia Lykawka, associate professor of Planetary Sciences at Kindai University in Japan and co-author of the study, said. Past theories about Planet Nine The search for Planet Nine has been on since 2014 when Konstantin Batygin and Michael Brown stated that a planet bigger than Earth and one that humans haven't found till now might be roaming somewhere in the solar system. Also Read: Hungriest supermassive black hole discovered in early universe by astronomers The two scientists strongly believe that the planet is altering the paths of distant bodies in the Kuiper Belt. According to them, it is a "super-Earth" and about five to seven times the mass of our planet. Strange orbits of objects in Kuiper Belt Several other astronomers in the past have also presented the theory that something is affecting the orbits of several known trans-Neptunian objects. Before Brown and Batygin proposed that a body is affecting objects in the Kuiper Belt, an astronomer named Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo noticed that several known trans-Neptunian objects have strangely clustered orbits. "Since Neptune was successfully discovered in 1846, at least 30 astronomers have proposed the existence of various types of trans-Neptunian objects and have always been wrong," Batygin, a professor of Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology, said. Meanwhile, there are other who believe that the strange orbits are being caused by a primordial black hole that was created just after the big bang. Our solar system likely captured it as it moved across the galaxy.

Is Planet Nine lurking in the solar system? We might know in 2025

In the quest to find that hypothetical yet intriguing ninth planet, scientists have narrowed down their search to some potential places in our Solar System.&nbsp;

Researchers observe that some objects at the outside edge of the Solar System (beyond Pluto), are behaving in a way which looks like they are being pulled around by something that is not seen yet. This mysterious object could be another planet, as per researchers.&nbsp;

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Discovering this object could help scientists better understand the makeup of the Solar System, its formation as well as evolutionary processes.

This discovery was submitted to The Astronomical Journal using the data from the Pan-STARRS1 survey to eliminate 78 per cent of the potential places that had been identified by previous research as places for the ninth planet.&nbsp;

<h2>Quest to find the ninth planet</h2>

As per the discovery, the areas of particular interest include near the galactic plane. This galactic plane area will now be thoroughly examined at the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory survey. The team is now rather looking at why the planet has not been found yet; one possibility of which is that it does not exist at all.&nbsp;

"Such an explanation would require new explanations for multiple phenomena observed in the outer Solar System. Until such explanations are available, we continue to regard Planet Nine as the most likely hypothesis", wrote the team in their paper.

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An alternative possibility is that Planet Nine is located even farther from the sun and possesses a greater mass than initially anticipated, rendering it more challenging to detect. Currently, the team posits that such a planet offers the most plausible explanation for the orbital patterns exhibited by observed objects in the outer reaches of the Solar System.

"The cluster of the directions of the orbits is the best known, but there is also the large perihelion distances of many objects, the existence of highly inclined and even retrograde objects, and the high abundance of very eccentric orbits which cross inside the orbit of Neptune," lead author Dr Micheal Brown told Universe Today.

<h2>Why scientists are looking for ninth planet?</h2>

The quest for a mysterious ninth planet stems from findings in 2015 by two astronomers from Caltech who observed six objects beyond Neptune arranged in a manner hinting at gravitational influence. This led to speculation about an unseen celestial body.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/mysterious-wave-leaves-scientists-puzzled-as-giant-cosmic-serpent-slithers-into-milky-way-692275">Mysterious wave leaves scientists puzzled, as giant cosmic serpent slithers into Milky Way</a>

The researchers have since refined their search, estimating the object's size to be two to four times that of Earth.

However, locating it remains challenging, prompting speculation that it might be a statistical anomaly or result from selection bias by the Caltech astronomers.

(With inputs from agencies)

In the quest to find that hypothetical yet intriguing ninth planet, scientists have narrowed down their search to some potential places in our Solar System. Researchers observe that some objects at the outside edge of the Solar System (beyond Pluto), are behaving in a way which looks like they are being pulled around by something that is not seen yet.

In the quest to find that hypothetical yet intriguing ninth planet, scientists have narrowed down their search to some potential places in our Solar System. Researchers observe that some objects at the outside edge of the Solar System (beyond Pluto), are behaving in a way which looks like they are being pulled around by something that is not seen yet. This mysterious object could be another planet, as per researchers. Also Read | Comet with no tail is approaching Earth and researchers want you to photograph it Discovering this object could help scientists better understand the makeup of the Solar System, its formation as well as evolutionary processes. This discovery was submitted to The Astronomical Journal using the data from the Pan-STARRS1 survey to eliminate 78 per cent of the potential places that had been identified by previous research as places for the ninth planet. Quest to find the ninth planet As per the discovery, the areas of particular interest include near the galactic plane. This galactic plane area will now be thoroughly examined at the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory survey. The team is now rather looking at why the planet has not been found yet; one possibility of which is that it does not exist at all. "Such an explanation would require new explanations for multiple phenomena observed in the outer Solar System. Until such explanations are available, we continue to regard Planet Nine as the most likely hypothesis", wrote the team in their paper. Also Read | Scientists grow pair of 'laboratory testicles' that could help treat male infertility An alternative possibility is that Planet Nine is located even farther from the sun and possesses a greater mass than initially anticipated, rendering it more challenging to detect. Currently, the team posits that such a planet offers the most plausible explanation for the orbital patterns exhibited by observed objects in the outer reaches of the Solar System. "The cluster of the directions of the orbits is the best known, but there is also the large perihelion distances of many objects, the existence of highly inclined and even retrograde objects, and the high abundance of very eccentric orbits which cross inside the orbit of Neptune," lead author Dr Micheal Brown told Universe Today. Why scientists are looking for ninth planet? The quest for a mysterious ninth planet stems from findings in 2015 by two astronomers from Caltech who observed six objects beyond Neptune arranged in a manner hinting at gravitational influence. This led to speculation about an unseen celestial body. Also Read | Mysterious wave leaves scientists puzzled, as giant cosmic serpent slithers into Milky Way The researchers have since refined their search, estimating the object's size to be two to four times that of Earth. However, locating it remains challenging, prompting speculation that it might be a statistical anomaly or result from selection bias by the Caltech astronomers. (With inputs from agencies)

Scientists believe they have discovered possible location of ninth planet in Solar System

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