New Telescope Poised to Confirm or Deny Existence of Planet Beyond Neptune
A new generation โof astronomical observationโฃ is set to begin, possiblyโฃ resolving a โdecades-long searchโ for a ninth major planet in our solar โsystem. โtheโ Vera โคC. Rubin Observatory, โขcurrentlyโ preparing for a 10-year survey of the โขnight sky, is expected to either directly detect โฃor definitively ruleโ outโข the existence of aโข hypothesized planet substantially larger than Mercury, currentlyโข dubbed “Planet Y.”
For โover a century, astronomers have theorized about โa โlarge, unseen planet influencing the orbits of objects in the outerโ solar system. The search intensified following the revelation of โPluto in 1930 – initially โconsideredโ “Planet X” โค- and the subsequent identification of numerous other Kuiper Belt objects. While Plutoโ was reclassifiedโค as a dwarf planet in 2006โค after the discovery of Eris, a similar-sized object in the Kuiper Belt, the possibility of a larger, more distant โคplanet remained. The difficulty in confirming its existence stemmedโ from the vastness andโ darkness of the Kuiper โBelt, makingโฃ observations challenging.
The renewed optimismโค stems from the Rubin Observatory’s unprecedented capabilities. “I โthink inโ theโค first two to โฃthreeโ years, this willโค be sure,” stated Avi Loeb, a harvard University astronomerโ who initially proposed the planet’s existence. “Ifโข the planetโ Y is โคin the field of telescope, the telescope will be able to find it directly.”
The hunt forโ a ninth planet began in earnest after Neptune’s discoveryโ in โฃ1846, with astronomers โขlike Percival Lowell suspecting orbitalโ anomalies in Neptune and Uranus indicated โคthe gravitationalโ pull of anโค undiscovered object. Despite Pluto’s โขinitial designation as Planet X,โ its โขsmallโข size ultimately proved insufficient to explain the observed โorbital disturbances.Laterโ data โfrom the Voyager 2 probe in the early 1990s revealed Neptune’s massโ was less than previously estimated,further diminishing the need for a Planet X description.
the Rubin Observatory’s survey promises โto dramatically change the landscapeโข of outer solar system exploration,โ potentially bringing โclosure to aโ century-old astronomical quest. The findings will impact our understanding of planetaryโ formation and the architecture ofโค our โsolar โsystem.