139 new distant planets found beyond Neptune’s orbit

Over 600 TNOs may soon be discovered using advanced algorithms and sensitive surveys.

Key Takeaways

  1. Astronomers have discovered 139 new minor planets beyond Neptune using the Dark Energy Survey.
  2. The discovery highlights a new method for detecting distant solar system objects.
  3. Seven of the newfound planets are extreme trans-Neptunian objects (eTNOs) with unusual orbits.
  4. This breakthrough may help confirm or refute the existence of the mysterious Planet Nine.
  5. The findings suggest thousands more minor planets await discovery in the solar system’s outer reaches.

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The discovery of 139 new minor planets in the outer solar system, and especially the new method used to find them, might eventually help astronomers determine whether Planet Nine exists or not. NASA/JPL-Caltech

A Groundbreaking Discovery

Astronomers have identified 139 minor planets beyond Neptune by analyzing data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), a project originally designed to study the universe’s expansion. These trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) join a growing catalog of distant solar system bodies, raising the total known TNOs to nearly 3,000. The research, published March 10 in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, introduces a new method that could uncover thousands more distant objects in the future.

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TNOs orbit the Sun beyond Neptune’s 30 astronomical units (AU), within the Kuiper Belt and farther out. The Kuiper Belt is a region rich with comets, icy bodies, and rocky debris, containing up to 100,000 objects. Scientists are especially interested in extreme TNOs (eTNOs) because of their unusual orbits, which may hint at the presence of a massive, hidden Planet Nine.

Over the past decade or so, astronomers have discovered a number of far-flung objects that all have very similar perihelia, meaning they make their closest approaches to the Sun at about the same location in space. One leading theory that attempts to explain the clustering is that a massive and unseen world known as Planet Nine hiding in the outer solar system. Fauxtoez/WikiMedia Commons

A New Tool for Finding TNOs

The DES team, led by Gary Bernstein and Pedro Bernardinelli from the University of Pennsylvania, adapted data from a camera designed to observe dark energy for TNO detection. By developing unique algorithms, the researchers identified moving objects across multiple images, revealing the 139 minor planets. Seven of these are eTNOs, which could contribute to the search for Planet Nine.

Planet Nine is theorized to be five to 15 times Earth’s mass and to orbit the Sun at around 400 AU. Its gravitational influence might explain why some eTNOs have clustered orbits. While the new study’s eTNOs do not yet confirm the clustering pattern, the team believes further discoveries could bring clarity.

The DES only analyzed a small fraction of its data for TNOs, but researchers predict up to 500 additional TNOs could emerge. Future projects like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory promise even greater sensitivity, potentially revealing thousands more distant objects.

The hypothetical world called Planet Nine is expected to be a super-Earth or sub-Neptune planet with an orbit that potentially takes it dozens of times farther from the Sun than the dwarf planet Pluto. NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Implications for Planet Nine

The evidence for Planet Nine remains inconclusive. While some astronomers support the theory, others propose alternative explanations, such as collective gravitational effects among TNOs. Regardless of Planet Nine’s existence, these discoveries provide crucial insights into the early history of the solar system and the dynamics of its outer regions.

“TNOs are like frozen time capsules,” Bernstein explains. They hold clues about the solar system’s evolution and the forces that shaped it. As researchers continue to explore the farthest reaches of the Sun’s domain, each discovery brings us closer to understanding the mysteries lurking in our cosmic backyard.

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