Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Astronomer Mike Brown, famously known as “the man who killed Pluto,” triggered controversy in 2006 when his discovery led to Pluto’s demotion from planetary status.
Brown’s discovery of Eris in the Kuiper Belt, a zone beyond Neptune filled with icy bodies, added to the intrigue, suggesting there might be other hidden worlds.
Some scientists now believe that the Kuiper Belt might harbor another massive planet, known as Planet Nine, which could reshape our understanding of the solar system.
Brown and planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin have been actively searching for Planet Nine, inspired by clues like unusual orbits of distant trans-Neptunian objects.
Astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo first noted these clustered orbits, theorizing an unseen, large planet could be “shepherding” these smaller objects.
Batygin’s latest study suggests that a hidden planet might be responsible for placing icy bodies near Neptune’s orbit, lending credibility to the Planet Nine theory.
Batygin proposes Planet Nine could be a “super-Earth” about five to seven times Earth’s mass, adding a missing link to the solar system’s planetary lineup.
Not everyone agrees; skeptics suggest the orbits may be influenced by galactic tides or a primordial black hole, or that gravitational theories need re-evaluation.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, launching in 2025, promises a clearer answer. With its wide-angle sky scans, it may finally prove or disprove Planet Nine’s existence.