Ten years ago, astronomer’s shrunk the solar system by removing Pluto from the list of real planets. Now the solar system is getting bigger again.
Artistic rendering of the distant view from Planet Nine back towards the sun.
The planet is thought to be gaseous, similar to Uranus and Neptune.
Image: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)
In the latest issue of Astronomical Journal astronomers from Caltech in Pasadena describe a massive object called Planet Nine, orbiting even farther away from the Sun than the former planet called Pluto. One author of today's article is Mike Brown, who also wrote the book How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming.
Caltech professor Mike Brown and assistant professor Konstanin Batygin
Photo: Lance Hayashida/Caltech