Astronomer: ninth planet has completed a census of planets in the solar system – RIA Novosti

© Michael Bachofner

MOSCOW, January 21 – RIA Novosti . Constantine Batygin opened at the “tip of the pen,” the ninth planet, located away from the Sun is 274 times further than Earth, believes that it is the last of this planet of the solar system, the press service of the California Institute of Technology.

Yesterday evening the Russian astronomer Constantine Batygin and his American colleague Michael Brown announced that they were able to calculate the position of the mysterious “Planet X” – the ninth or tenth if you count Pluto, the planet of the solar system, distant from the Sun at 41 billion kilometers and weighing 10 times larger than the Earth.

“Although initially we were pretty skeptical when we found hints of the existence of another planet in the Kuiper Belt, we have continued to study its intended orbit. Over time, we have become more confident that it really exists. For the first time in 150 years we have real evidence that we have completed the “census” of the planets of the solar system, “- said Batygin, whose words the press service of the journal.

This discovery, as they say Batygin and Brown, were largely made by the opening of two other ultra-large “residents” of the solar system – the dwarf planet 2012 VP113 and V774104, comparable in size to Pluto, and distant from the Sun by about 12-15 billion kilometers.

Both of these planets were discovered by Chad Trujillo (Chad Trujillo) of the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii (USA), a disciple of Brown, who after their discovery shared with his teacher and Batygina his observations, points to oddities in motion “Biden “as named in 2012 VP113, and a number of other objects of the Kuiper.

© Photo: ESO / L. Calçada

An analysis of the orbits of these objects has shown that all these acts some large celestial body that makes the orbits of these small dwarf planets and asteroids to stretch in a particular direction, the same at least six objects from the list, which presented Trujillo. In addition, the orbits of these objects were inclined to the ecliptic plane at the same angle – about 30%.

This “coincidence” as the scientists explain in the same way if the clock hands moving at different speeds, indicated the same minute at any time when you look at them. The probability of such an outcome of events is 0.007%, which suggests that orbits “residents” of the Kuiper Belt were not extended by accident – they have “conducted” some large planet located beyond the orbit of Pluto.

The calculations made Batygina It shows that this is definitely a “real” planet – its mass is 5000 times larger than Pluto, which is likely to mean that it is a gas giant like Neptune. Her last year about 15 thousand years.

© Photo: Scott Sheppard / Chad Trujillo

It rotates on an unusual orbit – its perihelion, the point of closest approach to the Sun, located on the “side” of the solar system, where the aphelion – the point of maximum removal – for all the other planets .

This orbit paradoxically stabilizes the Kuiper Belt, is not giving his objects collide with each other. While this planet, astronomers could not see because of its distance from the Sun, but Batygin and Brown believe that this can be done in the next 5 years, when its orbit has been calculated to be more precise.