AGUS MUGHNI | Sunday, 08/24/2025 23:51 WIB
Illustration – Astronomer Find Planet Y (Photo: Earth) Instructions
JAKARA, Jurnas.com – For centuries, the night sky became the birthplace of human curiosity. Every new discovery in the solar system always shakes the way we look at the position of the earth in the universe.
Now, astronomers re -open the possibility of the presence of an invisible world that orbits far outside of Neptune. This allegation leads to the existence of a planet which is temporarily named Planet Y.
The idea of hidden planets is not new. Previously, I had a theory of Planet X and Planet Nine, although some had been denied or have not been proven directly.
But this time, the new signal came from the study of Amir Siraj and his colleagues at Princeton University. Reported from the page Earth, mEreka observed a small disorder but was consistent in the orbit of a number of objects in the Kuiper Belt, the cold area on the outskirts of the solar system.
This disorder looks like the “bending” effect on the orbits of these objects. Siraj said that the most reasonable explanation is the existence of a planet that has not been detected.
According to his estimate, the planet is smaller than Earth but is bigger than Mercury. Its location is predicted between 100 to 200 astronomy units from the sun, equivalent to tens of billions of kilometers away.
Gravity from Planet Y is thought to push the orbit of objects around it until it deviates about 15 degrees from the flat plane of the solar system. This effect resembles fine ripples that interfere with the calm surface of the lake.
Although the signal found is not yet strong, Siraj assesses that this possibility remains credible. He said that the opportunity for the effect only happened to be in the range of two to four percent.
This reminded at the beginning of Planet Nine’s theory, which was also born from the irregularity of the orbit. The difference is, Planet Nine tends to pull the object towards him, while Planet Y actually makes the orbit becomes tilted out.
In other words, both planets can be both there, because each explains different symptoms. If Planet Nine plays a role in grouping the track, Planet Y gives an answer to the average slope of the Kuiper belt.
In the ideal solar system, the Kuiper Belt should follow the fixed orbit field called the Invarian field. But the latest observations actually show a striking slope at a distance of 80 to 200 astronomy units.
This slope cannot be formed from the start and lasts until now. Because, the natural effect of orbit motion will straighten it in less than 100 million years.
Therefore, the existence of a mass that maintains the slope is needed to remain. And in this context, the hidden planet is the most reasonable explanation.
Astronomer Jonti Horner of the University of Southern Queensland said that this made sense. He considered that the space outside Neptune was still not completely mapped well.
Most likely, if a planet like this does exist, it is not formed in its place now. Conversely, he may be pushed to the periphery by gravitational interactions since the early formation of the solar system.
Numerical simulations strengthen this scenario, showing that planets with mass between Mercury and Earth, as well as sloping orbits of more than 10 degrees, can create observed warp. Meanwhile, small objects such as Pluto are too weak in effect, and larger planets will actually interfere with areas closer to the sun.
This makes the characteristics of Planet Y differently different from Planet Nine, both in terms of location and gravitational effects. But both of them can complement each other in explaining strange structures in the Solar System.
In the near future, the search for Planet Y can get a big push through the observatory Vera C. Rubin in Chile. This facility will start a sky survey for a decade with high precision.
Amir Siraj said that this observatory would drastically expand the list of trans-nepture objects. He is optimistic that in the first few years, the influence of Planet Y can be observed, even the planet itself might be seen directly.
For now, Planet Y is still in the realm of hypotheses. But the history of astronomy has repeatedly shown that small irregularities in data can lead to extraordinary discoveries.
Like when neptune is found through interference with uranus orbit, or when pluto is detected through observations of patience and careful. So, if the planet is real, it is not impossible that he will soon shift from speculation into reality.
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