Researchers suspect the existence of a “second Earth” in the solar system

A research team from Japan has proposed the existence of a hypothetical ninth planet in our solar system. Scientists Patrick Sophia Likaoka from Kindai University in Osaka and Takashi Ito from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan in Tokyo published their findings in the specialized journal “The Astronomical Journal.”

again “Mercury” According to reports, researchers are basing their assumptions on the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) that orbit the Sun outside the orbit of the planet Neptune.

The new planet is not “Planet Nine”

Researchers have found that the orbits of these trans-Neptunian objects and Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO) could provide clues to the existence of a previously unknown planet. According to Mercury, Lekkaoka and Ito refer to their hypothetical planet as a “Kuiper Belt Planet” (KBP), depicting it as an Earth-like planet said to be located in the Kuiper Belt.

In contrast, the previously proposed “Planet 9” is described as an object ten times the mass of Earth, said to lie outside the Kuiper Belt.

38 to 46 billion kilometers from the Sun

According to calculations by Japanese researchers, the “Kuiper Belt planet” will be at a distance ranging from 37 to 46 billion kilometers from the sun.

The researchers consciously differentiate their proposal from the previous hypothesis surrounding “Planet 9.” They argue that the orbits of TNOs and KBOS could represent observable signatures of hypothetical planet perturbations.

It is possible that a “Kuiper Belt planet” is located in the dark regions of the solar system

Despite reasonable theoretical foundations, the “Kuiper Belt planet” has not yet been discovered. The researchers point out that it is possible that a primitive planetary body could survive in the distant Kuiper Belt, as many of these bodies existed in the early solar system.

According to Mercury, the hypothetical planet could be hiding in the far, dark fringes of the solar system, or it may not exist at all.

However, the search for “Kuiper Belt Planet” and “Planet 9” continues.