Ninth (Tenth?) Planet at last?

[Stub Mandrel]

My wife enjoyed hearing this before me - evidence for a tenth planet of about 10 earth-masses that explains the odd orbits of Kuiper Belt Objects like Sedna.

Rather than media hype, here's the actual paper:

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22/pdf

[SteveNickolls]

Thanks for posting this Neil.

Best regards,

Steve

[Kabi]

Really interesting paper.  I like how much changed in the last 10 years in the understanding of our solar system. Get your telescopes out and record data. There are still things to find out! 

[ollypenrice]

Thanks for the link.

This strikes me as being a measured presentation of the situation for the layperson. The video helps conceptualize what might be going on. (I'm not competent to judge ists accuracy, let me stress.) http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system

Olly

[Tomjo59]

Several newspapers this morning featuring an 'artist's impression' of the planet, and giving the impression that this is what it actually looks like.

Misleading, of course, but I suppose they need something visual.

[ollypenrice]

Several newspapers this morning featuring an 'artist's impression' of the planet, and giving the impression that this is what it actually looks like.

Misleading, of course, but I suppose they need something visual.

A bit sad that this is the journalistic level. Surely grown ups could handle the opposed orbital ellipses diagram? How will the papers know if they don't try?

Olly

[Stub Mandrel]

I can't be blue. At that distance any methane will be liquid.

[Dave In Vermont]

Thank you! I'd been looking for such all day. AllI could dredge up was flea-bitten, regurgitated pulp from the American press.

Dave

[Saganite]

Cheers Neil,

[Dave Lloyd]

The guys actually involved in the research are being conservative in their predictions due to the Vulcan error of the 19th century. It appeared that the planet Vulcan was necessary to explain orbital characteristics of Mercury but further advances (theory of relativity) disproved that.