Space
Our Solar System May Host More, Undiscovered Planets Beyond Pluto
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Jan 15, 2015 02:01 PM EST
Could our solar system be hosting more planets than we realized? Scientists have discovered that there could be at least two unknown dwarf planets hidden well beyond Pluto, whose gravitational influence determines the orbits and strange distribution of objects observed beyond Neptune.Astronomers have spent decades debating whether some dark trans-Plutonian planet remains to be discovered within the solar system. That's why researchers turned to mathematics and calculations. According to these calculations, it seems that two planets must exist beyond Pluto to explain the orbital behavior of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNO).
The most accepted theory states that the orbits of ETNOs should be distributed randomly. And yet what is observed is completely different; obviously, something must be influencing their orbits.
"This excess of objects with unexpected orbital parameters makes us believe that some invisible forces are altering the distribution of the orbital elements of the ETNO and we consider that the most probable explanation is that other unknown planets exist beyond Neptune and Pluto," said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The exact number is uncertain, given that the data that we have is limited, but our calculations suggest that there are at least two planets, and probably more, within the confines of our solar system."
That said, the current findings come up against the predictions of current models on the formation of the solar system. Yet the recent discovery by the ALMA radio telescope of a planet-forming disk from the star HL Tauri may suggest that planets can form several hundred astronomical units away from the center of the system. In the coming months, the scientists hope to make their sample larger to see whether or not their results are accurate.
The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the royal Astronomical Society: Letters.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
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NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
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First Posted: Jan 15, 2015 02:01 PM EST
Could our solar system be hosting more planets than we realized? Scientists have discovered that there could be at least two unknown dwarf planets hidden well beyond Pluto, whose gravitational influence determines the orbits and strange distribution of objects observed beyond Neptune.Astronomers have spent decades debating whether some dark trans-Plutonian planet remains to be discovered within the solar system. That's why researchers turned to mathematics and calculations. According to these calculations, it seems that two planets must exist beyond Pluto to explain the orbital behavior of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNO).
The most accepted theory states that the orbits of ETNOs should be distributed randomly. And yet what is observed is completely different; obviously, something must be influencing their orbits.
"This excess of objects with unexpected orbital parameters makes us believe that some invisible forces are altering the distribution of the orbital elements of the ETNO and we consider that the most probable explanation is that other unknown planets exist beyond Neptune and Pluto," said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The exact number is uncertain, given that the data that we have is limited, but our calculations suggest that there are at least two planets, and probably more, within the confines of our solar system."
That said, the current findings come up against the predictions of current models on the formation of the solar system. Yet the recent discovery by the ALMA radio telescope of a planet-forming disk from the star HL Tauri may suggest that planets can form several hundred astronomical units away from the center of the system. In the coming months, the scientists hope to make their sample larger to see whether or not their results are accurate.
The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the royal Astronomical Society: Letters.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone