The long talked about ‘Planet 9’ could be the culprit causing the rotational axis of the Sun to shift, according to researchers at the California Institute of Technology.
They have revealed earlier that the existence of the mysterious large planet is not only a real possibility, but is actually likely, saying that it could only be a matter of months before it is found.
Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin are the scientists who initially proposed it’s existence, and have now come forward to bring even more evidence of it’s existence to the table.
Their latest research findings were presented at the annual meeting of planetary scientists this week at the American Astronomical Society, and the data suggests that the enormous size of the enigmatic planet is causing the solar system to ‘wobble’ and the rotational axis of the Sun to tilt. The Sun’s tilt has been something that has been baffling researchers for nearly 2 centuries.
Because Planet Nine is so massive and has an orbit tilted compared to the other planets, the solar system has no choice but to slowly twist out of alignment,” said lead author Elizabeth Bailey.
Brown himself is confident that the planet may be found within 16 months.
“I think that there’ll be enough people looking for it that… somebody’s actually going to track this down,” he said. “[At the] next one of these (conferences) we’ll be talking about finding Planet Nine instead of just looking for it.”
