(ORDO NEWS) — Located in the outer part of the solar system, the ninth planet is considered a hypothetical object.
The gravitational pull between it and the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) could explain their peculiar orbital grouping, which averages more than 250 times the distance between Neptune and the Sun.
Humanity still does not know exactly how many planets are in the solar system. Scientists believe that there are eight planets and many dwarf planets, with Pluto being one of the most distant. But are there other planets beyond Pluto’s orbit?
Based on observations, there are no more planets, but simulations and mathematical models say otherwise. Located in the outer part of the solar system, the ninth planet is still considered a hypothetical planet.
The gravitational pull between it and extreme trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) could explain their unusual orbital grouping, which averages more than 250 times the distance between Neptune and the Sun.
The orbits of these objects in a certain sector are as close as possible to the Sun. There is a possibility that an undiscovered planet could influence the orbits of the most distant objects in the solar system. Florida Institute of Technology astrobiologist Manasvi Lingama tried to calculate how people could get to the ninth planet.
Scientists Mansavi Lingam, Adam Hibberd and Andreas Hein attempted to determine the time it would take to reach the ninth planet.
Unmanned travel to Planet Nine will take 45 to 75 years, as the hypothetical planet is located 42 billion kilometers from Earth, according to a new study.
The research team has also explored nuclear heat engines and laser sails as futuristic methods of transportation. For example, it would take approximately 40 years to reach the ninth planet with a nuclear heat engine. If you use a solar sail, then it will take only six to seven years to reach the ninth planet.
According to astronomers, the ninth planet may be a smaller version of Neptune or a rocky planet similar to Earth. As for its origin, the question is open: did it form in the solar system or was it captured by the gravitational pull of the Sun?
To conduct research, they used the principles of orbital mechanics, which were incorporated into the algorithm of a computer model.
Lingam’s main goal is to get more information about other planets in the solar system, as he was inspired by the missions of the Voyager 1,2 spacecraft. These spacecraft are still sending valuable information about the outer solar system, despite the fact that their scientific instruments may already cease to function by 2025.
Lingam added that any mission to Planet Nine would provide not only valuable information about this hypothetical planet, but also vital information about Jupiter, as some of these missions would use the planet as a “gravitational slingshot.”
We previously reported on a study by astronomer Jakub Scholz and his colleague James Unwin, who suggested that the mysterious planet ninth could be a primordial black hole.
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