Several conspiracy theorists and doomsday mongers strongly believe that a giant planet named Nibiru will once hit the earth, causing massive devastation. Even though the scientific community has dismissed the claims surrounding Nibiru, several top space experts believe in the possible existence of Planet Nine, which could be located on the edge of the solar system.
Is Planet Nine real?
The legendary planet, also dubbed Planet X is hypothesized to be ten times as large as the Earth and operating on a humongous orbit.
According to some space experts, if Planet X is real, it would orbit about 20 times farther from the Sun on average than Neptune, which means it could take 10,000 to 20,000 years to complete one orbit around the sun.
"Caltech astronomers Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown announced new research that provides evidence of a giant planet tracing an unusual, elongated orbit in the outer solar system. The prediction is based on detailed mathematical modeling and computer simulations, not direct observation. This large object could explain the unique orbits of at least five smaller objects discovered in the distant Kuiper Belt," wrote NASA on its website.
Powerful telescopes hold the key
With the advent of highly advanced powerful telescopes, mysteries surrounding Planet Nine will be unfolded in the coming years.
"The possibility of a new planet is certainly an exciting one for me as a planetary scientist and for all of us. This is not, however, the detection or discovery of a new planet. It's too early to say with certainty there's a so-called Planet X. What we're seeing is an early prediction based on modeling from limited observations. It's the start of a process that could lead to an exciting result," said Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division.
Batygin and Mike Brown are now busy searching for this distant body that could reshape our current understanding of space science.
"If Planet X is out there, we'll find it together. Or we'll determine an alternate explanation for the data that we've received so far. Now, let's go, explore," added Green.
