A potential new dwarf planet has been identified at the distant fringes of our solar system, taking approximately 25,000 years to complete one orbit around the Sun.
This celestial object, designated 2017, was discovered by a team from the Advanced Research Institute and Princeton University who were searching for a “Planet 9,” a hypothesized planet larger than Earth that is believed to orbit beyond Neptune. Some astronomers suspect that this elusive Ninth planet could shed light on the peculiar clustering of various objects and other oddities observed in the outer solar system.
While in pursuit of the elusive Planet Nine, researchers instead came across another resident of our cosmic neighborhood.
“It’s similar to the way Pluto was discovered,” remarked Sihao Cheng, a member of the Advanced Research Institute that spearheaded the research team. “This endeavor was a real adventure.”
If validated, the newly found dwarf planet could be what Chen refers to as Pluton’s “extreme cousin.” The findings were published on the Preprint site arXiv and have yet to undergo peer review.
Cheng and his colleagues estimate that 2017 measures approximately 435 miles in diameter.
Dwarf planets are categorized as celestial bodies orbiting the Sun that possess enough mass and gravity to be nearly round, yet unlike typical planets, they do not clear their orbital paths of asteroids and other objects.
Eritayan, a co-author of the study and a graduate student at Princeton University, noted that one fascinating characteristic of 2017 is its highly elongated orbit. At its most distant points from the Sun, it lies over 1,600 times farther than Earth does from the Sun.
The potential dwarf planets were discovered through a meticulous examination of a vast dataset from a Chilean telescope that was scanning the universe for signs of dark energy. By compiling observations over time, the researchers identified moving objects exhibiting clear patterns.
While 2017 may be one of the most distant known objects in the solar system, its discovery suggests that other dwarf planets may exist in that vast region of space.
“We used public data that had been available for some time,” explained Jiaxuan Li, a graduate student and co-author of the research at Princeton University. “It was just hiding in plain sight.”
Li mentioned that the object is currently located near the Sun, necessitating a wait of about a month for researchers to conduct follow-up observations using ground-based telescopes. They also hope to eventually study the object with the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope.
In the meantime, Chen stated he remains committed to the quest for Planet Nine. However, new findings may complicate long-held theories about the existence of such a planet.
The hypothesis surrounding Planet Nine suggests that planets several times Earth’s size in the outer solar system might clarify why certain groups of icy objects seem to have unusually clustered orbits.
“Under the influence of Planet Nine, any object lacking a specific orbital geometry would eventually become unstable and be expelled from the solar system,” Yang explained.
Despite 2017’s long orbit leading it away from clustered objects, Yang’s calculations indicate that its path will remain stable for the next billion years.
In essence, if Planet Nine existed, 2017 would not persist. Yet, Yang emphasized that further research is essential, and the discovery of a new dwarf planet candidate does not definitively rule out Planet Nine’s existence.
For one thing, the simulations currently utilize a single hypothetical location for Planet Nine, and scientists do not all agree on the locations of these planets.
Konstantin Batygin, a planetary science professor at the California Institute of Technology, first proposed the existence of Planet Nine in a 2016 study co-authored with Mike Brown from Caltech.
He remarked that the discoveries related to 2017 neither confirm nor deny the theory. Batygin noted that outer solar system objects that might demonstrate gravitational influences of Planet Nine must have their closest points of orbit remain sufficiently distant and not interact significantly with Neptune.
“Unfortunately, this object does not fall into that category,” Batygin told NBC News. “It’s in a chaotic orbit, so the implications are not significant, as it complicates the scenario.”
Batygin expressed excitement about the new research for providing additional context regarding how objects evolve in the outer solar system, praising the researchers’ efforts in mining public datasets as “heroic.”
Chen, however, remains optimistic about finding Planet Nine.
“The entire project commenced as a search for Planet Nine, and I’m still in that mindset,” he remarked. “This, however, is an enthralling tale of scientific discovery. Whether or not Planet Nine exists, the pursuit is a captivating venture.”
Source: www.nbcnews.com
