Japanese astrophysicists have found evidence of the existence of a twin of the Earth
Miscellaneous / / September 05, 2023
It could be the famous Ninth Planet.
Astrophysicists from Kindai University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan have found possible evidence for the existence of an Earth-like planet located in the Kuiper Belt. Their study published by The Astronomical Journal.
The Kuiper Belt is a circumstellar disk that begins just outside the orbit of Neptune. Previous studies have shown that it is full of objects - asteroids, space rocks, comets and possibly small pieces of ice. And some of them “behave strangely,” the researchers found. In addition, they turned out to have an abnormally large angle of inclination of the orbit.
To understand what is happening, scientists created several computer simulations. Modeling has shown that the most likely explanation for these "anomalies" may be gravitational influence. This means that there is a planet in the belt. Apparently, its mass is 1.5-3 times greater than the Earth's and it is located approximately 250-500 astronomical units from the Sun. For comparison, Neptune itself orbits about 30 astronomical units from our star.
Over the past decade, several studies have been presented that prove the theory of the possible existence of a hidden planet in the far fringes of the solar system. Some call her elusive the ninth planet. However, no clear signs of its existence have yet been found.
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