At least two new unknown planets may be in the far reaches of the solar system, according to European astronomers. According to the results of the study, which leads The Guardian, these celestial bodies can have dimensions comparable to the size of the Earth.
Astronomers: Earth-2 and Earth-3 may be present in the solar system photo: nasa.gov
Astronomers came to such conclusions by observing asteroids located in orbits beyond Neptune and Pluto.
Usually, the trajectories of such cosmic bodies around the Sun have certain constant characteristics. However, some of them, as it turned out, periodically deviate from standard routes under the influence of the gravitational field of some large objects invisible from the Earth.
“We believe that the most plausible explanation for this phenomenon is that beyond Neptune and Pluto are other planets unknown to us,” says Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos of the Complutense University of Madrid.
“It is impossible to accurately name their number, given that we have a limited amount of data, but our calculations indicate that there are at least two such planets in the far reaches of our solar system, and perhaps even more,” he said.
The debate among astronomers about the number of planets in the solar system has been going on for decades. Until recently, in the early 2000s, it was believed that there are nine planets. However, in 2006, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the title of planet due to its small size and atypical, highly inclined orbit, classifying it as a trans-Neptunian object (TNO).
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Around the same years, other Pluto-like cosmic bodies, such as Eris, Makemake and Haumea, were discovered in the solar system, and scientists seriously thought about the possibility of the existence of new planets orbiting the sun.
The current study, according to European astronomers, could have a truly revolutionary impact on our understanding of the solar system, if the calculations are confirmed and new large objects can be discovered.
