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Are researchers on the verge of finding Planet 9?

Scientists have identified four possible contenders so Pluto could soon have a replacement.
Scientists have identified four possible contenders so Pluto could soon have a replacement. Scientists have identified four possible contenders so Pluto could soon have a replacement.

Ever since scientists announced they believed there was a ninth planet in the solar system, the world has been waiting in anticipation to know more about this elusive celestial body.

Now, astronomers are investigating four unknown objects that could be potential candidates for this new planet after scouring through millions of objects in the sky.

Last year, a group of scientists at California Institute of Technology uncovered the existence of Planet 9 using computer simulations – based on the gravitational influence it exerts on objects in the Kuiper Belt (a disc-shaped region of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune).

ANU Planet 9 team.
ANU Planet 9 team.
ANU’s Planet 9 team (ANU)

But of course indirect evidence and computer simulations aren’t enough – so a team of scientists led by the Australian National University (ANU), started the Zooniverse project and called on researchers and astronomers from around the world join the search and help categorise millions of objects in the sky survey data.

The project was launched by Professor Brian Cox during a BBC Stargazing Live broadcast.

Lead researcher Dr Brad Tucker said about 60,000 people from around the world had classified over four million objects in space.“We’ve detected minor planets Chiron and Comacina, which demonstrates the approach we’re taking could find Planet 9 if it’s there,” said Dr Tucker.

Researchers used the a 1.3-metre SkyMapper telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales to rule out areas in the southern sky where Planet 9 could be situated.“We’ve managed to rule out a planet about the size of Neptune being in about 90% of the southern sky out to a depth of about 350 times the distance the Earth is from the Sun,” Dr Tucker added.

“With the help of tens of thousands of dedicated volunteers sifting through hundreds of thousands of images taken by SkyMapper, we have achieved four years of scientific analysis in under three days.”

The solar system has been considered to have just eight planets since Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006.

If you want to participate, you can check out Zooniverse’s Backyard Worlds.