In January 2016, scientists announced that there may be another planet in the solar system. Many astronomers are looking for it; research so far has led to ambiguous conclusions. Nevertheless, the discoverers of Planet X are confident of its existence. talks about the latest results of work in this direction.

About the possible detection of Planet X beyond the orbit of Pluto, astronomers and Konstantin Batygin from the California Institute of Technology (USA). Planet Nine solar system, if it exists, is about 10 times heavier than the Earth, and its properties resemble Neptune - a gas giant, the most distant of the known planets orbiting our star.

According to the authors' estimates, the period of Planet X's revolution around the Sun is 15 thousand years, its orbit is highly elongated and inclined relative to the plane of the Earth's orbit. The maximum distance from the Sun of Planet X is estimated at 600-1200 astronomical units, which takes its orbit beyond the Kuiper belt, in which Pluto is located. The origin of Planet X is unknown, but Brown and Batygin believe that this cosmic object was knocked out of a protoplanetary disk near the Sun 4.5 billion years ago.

Astronomers discovered this planet theoretically by analyzing the gravitational disturbance it exerts on other celestial bodies in the Kuiper belt - the trajectories of six large trans-Neptunian objects (that is, located beyond the orbit of Neptune) were combined into one cluster (with similar perihelion arguments, longitude of the ascending node and inclination). Brown and Batygin initially estimated the probability of error in their calculations at 0.007 percent.

Where exactly Planet X is located is unknown, what part of the celestial sphere should be tracked by telescopes is unclear. The celestial body is located so far from the Sun that it is extremely difficult to notice its radiation with modern means. And the evidence for the existence of Planet X, based on the gravitational influence it exerts on celestial bodies in the Kuiper belt, is only indirect.

Video: caltech / YouTube

In June 2017, astronomers from Canada, Great Britain, Taiwan, Slovakia, the USA and France searched for Planet X using the OSSOS (Outer Solar System Origins Survey) catalog of trans-Neptunian objects. The orbital elements of eight trans-Neptunian objects were studied, the movement of which would have been influenced by Planet X - the objects would have been grouped in a certain way (clustered) according to their inclinations. Among the eight objects, four were examined for the first time; all of them are located at a distance of more than 250 astronomical units from the Sun. It turned out that the parameters of one object, 2015 GT50, did not fit into clustering, which cast doubt on the existence of Planet X.

However, the discoverers of Planet X believe that the 2015 GT50 does not contradict their calculations. As Batygin noted, numerical simulations of the dynamics of the Solar System, including Planet X, show that beyond the semi-major axis of 250 astronomical units there should be two clusters of celestial bodies whose orbits are aligned with Planet X: one stable, the other metastable. Although the 2015 GT50 is not included in any of these clusters, it is still reproduced by the simulation.

Batygin believes that there may be several such objects. The position of the minor semi-axis of Planet X is probably connected with them. The astronomer emphasizes that since the publication of data about Planet X, not six, but 13 trans-Neptunian objects indicate its existence, of which 10 celestial bodies belong to the stable cluster.

While some astronomers doubt Planet X, others are finding new evidence in its favor. Spanish scientists Carlos and Raul de la Fuente Marcos studied the parameters of the orbits of comets and asteroids in the Kuiper belt. The detected anomalies in the movement of objects (correlations between the longitude of the ascending node and inclination) are easily explained, according to the authors, by the presence in the Solar System of a massive body whose orbital semi-major axis is 300-400 astronomical units.

Moreover, there may be not nine, but ten planets in the solar system. Recently, astronomers from the University of Arizona (USA) discovered the existence of another celestial body in the Kuiper belt, with a size and mass close to Mars. Calculations show that the hypothetical tenth planet is distant from the star at a distance of 50 astronomical units, and its orbit is inclined to the ecliptic plane by eight degrees. The celestial body disturbs known objects from the Kuiper belt and, most likely, was closer to the Sun in ancient times. Experts note that the observed effects are not explained by the influence of Planet X, located much further than the “second Mars.”

Currently, about two thousand trans-Neptunian objects are known. With the introduction of new observatories, in particular LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) and JWST (James Webb Space Telescope), scientists plan to increase the number of known objects in the Kuiper belt and beyond to 40 thousand. This will make it possible not only to determine the exact parameters of the trajectories of trans-Neptunian objects and, as a result, to indirectly prove (or disprove) the existence of Planet X and the “second Mars”, but also to directly detect them.

California Institute of Technology scientists Michael Brown and Konstantin Batygin provided evidence of the existence of a giant planet in the solar system located even further from the Sun than Pluto.

Researchers reported that they have not yet been able to see it through a telescope. According to them, the planet was discovered while studying the movement of small celestial bodies in deep space. The mass of the celestial body is approximately 10 times the mass of the Earth, but scientists have yet to verify its existence.

The institute's astronomers only have an approximate idea of ​​where the planet may be located in the starry sky, and, without a doubt, their assumption will launch a campaign to find it.

“There are many telescopes on Earth that are theoretically capable of finding it. I really hope that now, after our announcement, people around the world will begin to look for the ninth planet,” said Michael Brown.

Elliptical orbit

According to scientists' calculations, the space object is about 20 times farther from the Sun than Neptune, which is 4.5 billion km away.

Unlike the almost circular orbits of other planets in the Solar System, this object presumably moves in an elliptical orbit, and a complete revolution around the Sun takes from 10 thousand to 20 thousand years.

Scientists have studied the motion of ice-dominated objects in the Kuiper Belt. Pluto is located in this belt.

Researchers have noticed a distinct arrangement of some bodies in the Belt, particularly large objects such as Sedna and 2012 VP113. In their opinion, this can only be explained by the presence of an unknown large space object.

"All the most distant objects are moving in the same direction along an inexplicable trajectory, and we realized that the only thing the explanation is the existence of a large, distant planet that holds them together as they orbit the sun," Brown said.

Planet X

The idea of ​​the existence of the so-called Planet X, located on the periphery of the solar system, has been discussed in scientific circles for more than 100 years. They remember her and then forget about her.

The current suggestion is of particular interest because of the lead author of the study.

Brown specializes in finding distant objects, and it was his discovery of the dwarf planet Eris in the Kuiper Belt in 2005 that saw Pluto lose planet status a year later. It was then assumed that Eris was slightly larger than Pluto, but now it has become clear that it is slightly smaller.

Researchers studying distant solar system objects have for some time suggested the possibility of a planet the size of Mars or Earth due to the size and shape of the planets in the Kuiper Belt. But until the planet can be seen through a telescope, the idea of ​​its existence will be viewed with skepticism.

The study by Michael Brown and Konstantin Batygin was published in the Astronomical Journal.

"She's huge"

The discoverer of the ninth planet of the solar system about a new cosmic body

Photo: R. Hurt / Infrared Processing and Analysis Center / Courtesy of California Institute of Technology / AP

The discovery of the ninth planet in the solar system by two astronomers from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena became known on January 20. One of them, a native of Russia, Konstantin Batygin, told Lenta.ru about the search for Planet X, difficulties in naming a new celestial body, and the unsolved mysteries of the Solar System.

"Lenta.ru": What is the planet you discovered?

: It does not fall into the category of dwarf planets. This heavenly body quite massive. Our model gives a mass of about ten Earth's, this planet is simply gigantic. It is now defined as a celestial object whose gravitational field dominates that part of the solar system.

In general, there is not even a question: is it a planet or not. We know about it because its gravity affects the orbits of distant objects in the Kuiper Belt. The mathematical modeling itself relies on the planet having enough mass to gravitationally dominate the solar system.

What about its physical properties?

Calculations, unfortunately, give us only mass and General characteristics. We can only assume that she is similar in chemical composition to Uranus or Neptune. More precisely, we will say something when a device like New Horizons is sent to the planet. Although it’s a long flight and you’ll have to wait a very long time.

Where did Planet X come from?

We think it formed in the first three million years of the solar system, about 4.5 billion years ago, from roughly the same material as Uranus and Neptune. While the solar system was still shrouded in a gas cloud, this planet was gravitationally scattered into a longer orbit.

Were you inspired by Chadwick Trujillo and Scott Sheppard's observations of the trans-Neptunian object 2012 VP113 in 2004?

We built on their work. What they found is called the perihelion argument for many orbits in the Kuiper Belt. It turns out that this is only part of the story. The reality is an order of magnitude simpler and more fundamental: further orbits in the Kuiper belt look in approximately the same direction. Their physical orbits are almost the same. And it was this fundamental point that led to us being able to calculate the orbit of Planet 9.

Image: NASA/JPL-CALTECH

How quickly do you hope to discover a planet with the Subaru telescope? Your colleagues, such as Professor Hal Levison, can't wait to see these first-hand observations.

In principle, we get results from one night of observations quite quickly. The problem is that you need a lot of nights: you need to survey a fairly large part of the sky. So I think if we integrate, it will take us two to three years to find the planet that we predicted.

Could this planet have satellites?

We think so. My colleagues and I agree that there is no reason to prevent this. Can they be seen in a telescope? Maybe. But it's difficult...

Have you thought about what to name the new planet?

Mike Brown and I (co-author of Konstantin Batygin - approx. "Tapes.ru") we believe that it is better to entrust this to the world community. It's not up to the two of us to decide. Again, we haven’t thought about this yet: we have a theoretical model, but the planet has not been found astronomically.

Could other planets be discovered in the solar system?

I guess, yes. There is nothing that contradicts this possibility. But at the moment we do not have any data indicating that there is anything else besides the ninth planet.

When will observational astronomy put an end to this plot?

Good question. By the middle of the 20th century, it seemed that observational astronomy had completed its work in the solar system. It turned out that this was not the case.

Basically, the Solar System is huge, the Sun's gravitational field dominates very far away: the dominance ends somewhere after one hundred thousand astronomical units, and we see small objects in the Kuiper belt at a distance of a maximum of eighty astronomical units. A huge space still remains unknown.

Three largest telescopes are being built on Earth at once: the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the European Extremely large telescope(E-ELT). Will they be useful in similar studies?

The projects you named are certainly important. However, for searching for planets like ours, telescopes like Subaru, whose cameras are designed to cover most of the sky, are more suitable. The same TMT will be good for characterization and bad for searching.

What if the discovery of the ninth planet is not confirmed?

The most dramatic precedent is the discovery of Neptune in 1846 by Urban Le Verrier, who used mathematical models, similar to the ones we have today. But our model is an order of magnitude more detailed and complex: it uses supercomputers.

And Le Verrier’s calculations were confirmed in one night of observations.

Do you maintain contacts with Russian colleagues?

I lived in Russia until 1994, after which I moved with my family to Japan and then to the USA. I am mainly a theorist, sometimes I communicate by e-mail with colleagues from Russia and Russians working in the USA and other countries.

Russian media I don't read because I don't have enough time. I try to focus exclusively on science. I can say that Russia remains strong in theoretical science: there are many good scientists. The story of Mikhail Lidov, who in the 1950s calculated the effect now called the “Lidov-Kozai resonance”, comes to mind. For quite a long time people did not understand how important this effect was. Lidov was decades ahead of humanity, and there are still such scientists in Russia.

Two American astronomers, one of whom is from Russia, were stunned on Tuesday scientific world after sensational news spread across the media: they discovered a ninth planet on the outskirts of the solar system! The first news about this was published by the Californian University of Technology, where both scientists work - and Mike, later - authoritative scientific journals Science and Nature.

“She will be the real ninth planet. Only two valid planets have been found since ancient times, and this will be the third. This is a significant part of our solar system that has remained undetected, and it’s exciting,” says Brown.

It is reported that the planet was found by mathematical analysis disturbances experienced by many icy bodies from the so-called Kuiper Belt - a huge region of space beyond the orbit of Pluto. Calculations have shown that the planet revolves around the Sun at a distance of 20 orbits of Neptune, its mass is 10 times greater than the mass of the Earth.

Due to such a distance from the Sun, the planet is not visible and makes a full revolution around the Sun in 10-20 thousand years.

“Although we were initially skeptical that this planet could exist, as we continued to explore its orbit, we became increasingly confident that it was indeed there,” Batygin said.

The calculated mass of the object leaves no doubt that it can be confidently classified as a planet, because it is 5 thousand times heavier than Pluto! Unlike the vast number of small objects in the solar system, such as dwarf planets, Planet Nine gravitationally dominates the extended region of the Kuiper Belt where it orbits. Moreover, this area is much larger than the space in which all the other known planets of the Solar System dominate.

This, as Brown puts it, makes it “the most planetary of the planets in the solar system.”

Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin

The work of scientists, which may become epoch-making, entitled “Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System” was published in the journal Astronomical Journal. In it, the authors find an explanation for many previously discovered features in the movement of icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt.

The search for the planet began in 2014, when a former Brown student published a paper claiming that 13 of the most distant Kuiper Belt objects had similar oddities in their motion. Then a version of the existence of a small planet nearby was proposed. Brown did not support this version at the time, but continued his calculations. Together with Batygin, they began a year and a half project to study the orbits of these bodies.

Caltech/R.Hurt (IPAC)

Quite soon, Batygin and Brown realized that the orbits of six of these objects passed close to the same region of space, despite the fact that all orbits were different. “It’s as if you looked at six watches on six hands that move at different speeds, and at that moment they showed the same time. The probability of this is about 1/100,” explains Brown. In addition, it turned out that the orbits of all six bodies are inclined at an angle of 30 degrees to the ecliptic plane. “Actually, this could not have been accidental. So we began to look for what formed these orbits,” the astronomer explained.

Almost by accident, scientists noticed that if a heavy planet was included in the calculations,

whose perihelion is 180 degrees away from the perihelion of these six bodies (that is, the Sun itself is between them), then its perturbations will precisely explain the observed picture.

“The healthy reaction was that such a geometry is impossible, the orbits cannot be stable for a long time, because in the end this will lead to a collision of objects,” Batygin believes. However, a mechanism known in celestial mechanics as mean motion resonances prevents this from happening: objects approaching each other exchange energy and fly apart.

For every four revolutions of the ninth planet, there are nine revolutions of those same objects, and they never collide. As often happens in astronomy, the hypothesis was confirmed when its prediction was confirmed. It turns out that the trans-Neptunian object Sedna, discovered in 2003 by Brown, Trujillo and Rabinowitz, and another similar object, 2012 VP113, do indeed slightly deviate their orbits where predicted. But the main assumption that came true is the existence, thanks to a heavy planet in the Kuiper Belt, of objects whose plane of rotation is completely perpendicular to the plane of the Solar System.

It turned out that over the past three years, astronomers have found at least four such objects whose orbits correspond to the predictions.

Where did the planet hidden in the depths of the Kuiper Belt come from? Scientists believe that the solar system originally had four cores that formed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. “But there could have been five,” says Brown. This fifth protoplanet, coming too close to Jupiter or Saturn, could be thrown into a distant eccentric orbit.

According to scientists, if a planet is now close to its perihelion, you can look for it in past sky surveys. If she managed to move away, telescopes like the 10-meter instruments at the Keck Observatory can catch her,

after all, the planet never approaches the Sun at a distance closer than 200 Earth orbits.

There is no consensus among scientists about the discovery. , a specialist in body dynamics from Nice, is confident that this planet exists. But not everyone thinks so. “I've seen many, many statements like this in my career. And they all turned out to be wrong,” says Hal Levison, a planetary scientist at the Boulder Institute in Colorado.

Until 2009, Pluto, discovered in 1930 also thanks to the analysis of the disturbances it creates, was considered the ninth planet of the solar system. Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet by a decision of the International Astronomical Union. Recently, some astronomers have created a movement to restore it to planetary status following discoveries made by the New Horizons probe.
Konstantin Batygin gave one of his first interviews to a Gazeta.Ru correspondent.

— Konstantin, searching for bodies in the Kuiper Belt is not a very popular topic among astronomers, how many people are doing this?
— There are a little more than a hundred people in the world, I think. It turned out that the most distant objects in the solar system, in physical space, look in the same direction. And the only theoretically correct model that we were able to construct is the one where their orbits are held by the gravity of one planet.

— What are the prospects for finding a planet using telescopes?
“I think it’s realistic to do this in the next two to five years.” This requires knowledge of the orbit and sufficient observing time on telescopes. Knowing the orbit is what we did in this article. To find it, you need to know where to look. At the moment we know only the closest part of it.

— I know that you were born in Moscow. How did you end up in the USA?
— We lived in Russia until 1994; I finished 1st grade in Moscow. We moved to Japan, lived there for six years, where I studied from 3rd to 6th grade, and missed the second grade because I was too tall. Then he studied at the Russian school at the embassy in Tokyo. In 1999 we moved to California, where I graduated high school, university and graduate school at Caltech.

— Good luck, we hope that your discovery will be confirmed and we will see your name in textbooks!
- Thank you.