Planet 9

I've talked about this before, but this is important to our very existence, and it might indicate what has happened around other stars in our galaxy.

Our solar system has a huge planet that's way out in the Kuiper belt. This planet is huge and it's not supposed to be there. A lot of orbits of bodies in the Kuiper belt are extremely elliptical and spread out in one direction, indicating that's something is wrong. The orbits of these asteroids match up to the calculations that show that there is a large planet affecting them, a planet that's at least 10 times the size of Earth.

The problem is that this 9th planet is in an elliptical orbit that takes it way out there, so it's not moving very fast. It's so hard to see because it's too far away; at least 19 billion miles at its nearest and 112 billion miles at it's extreme. A planet that far away is going to be hard to see, even though it's 10 times the size of earth. It's like trying to see a bee be that's 18 miles away.

Astronomers are convinced that this 9th planet exists, but until it's actually seen, it's not officially the 9th planet. The other problem is trying to determine what's it's like. Is it a rocky planet like Earth or a gas giant like Neptune?

Is this the missing super Earth that exists in several other alien star systems? This would be amazing if true. It could be a frozen surface with volcanic processes, much like Iceland. This planet would be geologically active but dimly lit by starlight. The problem with this theory is that planet 9 would have had to form in the inner solar system and then be tossed out to the outer solar system.

Maybe it would be an ice world like Enceledus with a sub-surface ocean where life could have developed. A planet like this would be at least 10 times the mass of Earth. The Kuiper belt has millions of icy planets that orbit at 50 times the distance from Earth to the sun. Pluto is one of these planets, but it was demoted to a dwarf planet. This 9th planet would be thousands of times the mass of Pluto, which would make it very unique because the core would be still warm, allowing for a sub-surface water with icy jets spewing up from fissures. The problem with this theory is that it would be strange because there was not enough mass in the Kuiper belt to form a planet that size.

The only other choice is that the 9th planet is a gas world like Neptune, but it would be smaller than Neptune and very strange. Gas giants have thick gaseous atmosphere over a metallic hydrogen core. But the 9th planet would have a icy rocky core with an atmosphere that's nearly transparent and formed of pure hydrogen and helium. Its magnetic shield would promote lighting and storms near the surface.

The 9th planet is most likely a gas giant smaller than Neptune, and Jupiter should have ejected it from our solar system. However, mathematical models indicate that this planet would form and explain a lot about the orbits of the planets in our solar system.

The only other option is that our Sun captured this 9th planet from another nearby star during our solar system's formation. This is a common event when young stars are formed near one another in a giant gas-dust cloud.

One interesting thing about this 9th gas giant planet is that it could have icy moons that could support life because of tidal heating. The internal heating could support oceans with life.

One thing we do know is that this planet 9 is not going to wipe out Earth. It's too far away to do that.

Thanks for reading.