Most people think that they know all the planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. But scientists may have recently found a new neighbor in our solar system. Planet Nine is a theoretical jovian planet that exists beyond Neptune.

If Planet Nine is proven to exist, it can change how we view our solar system forever. We possibly would be able to learn much more about jovian planets, and open new gateways to our understanding of our universe. Since this planet is a close relative to planets in our solar system, we have an entirely new planet to explore.

But the big question is, how do we know it’s out there? How can we make such a sudden conclusion, for something so far away? Since 2004, astronomers have been noticing strange gravitational influences in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. From this, they concluded that there was a large jovian-like planet that was disturbing these objects’ orbits.

Scientific American’s article on Planet Nine states, “Their computer models suggested the gravitational pull of such a world might explain the strange, tilted orbits of several bodies in the Kuiper Belt of icy objects that haunt the solar system’s outer reaches.” Scientists are convinced Planet Nine is there simply because of gravitational influences of other celestial bodies.

Now that we’ve found another planet very close to us, we need to know about the planet’s core. The cores of jovian planets are supposedly made of combinations of rock, metal and hydrogen compounds. Planets like Jupiter and Saturn have similar cores, but not exactly the same interiors, with layers protruding outward of metallic hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, gaseous hydrogen and topped with a layer of visible clouds.

Although we know what jovian planets might resemble, we don’t know for sure. For example, scientists are not sure whether deep inside Jupiter, there is a solid core or not. Currently, all they can attempt to do is make gravitational measurements, compare them with Earth’s, and form a hypothesis based on the information gathered.

Does Planet Nine have a solid core? A liquid or gaseous core? Maybe even both? Nobody really knows. However, scientists are definitely making progress in uncovering the mysteries of Planet Nine. According to the website, “Space.com”, “Astronomers have said Planet Nine is perhaps four times wider than Earth… It is likely that Planet Nine is currently at or near the aphelion of our solar system… so it is practically immobile…” The fact that Planet Nine is immobile makes sense.

Since we don’t know if Planet Nine exists, we don’t know how the non-scientific community would react to this. A huge factor of the discovery of Planet Nine is how the people would react to it.

When asked how an entire new planet will change your view of the solar system and universe, Ms. Mangano responded, “I would definitely become more interested in the topic, and we as a society may question our existence in a new way. ”

Also, the discovery of a new planet could get people interested in space who before, never even thought about it. It could open wonderment to our society, and expand the astronomical community. When asked if this will make people wonder if there are planets beyond Planet Nine in our solar system, Ms. Mangano exclaimed, “Yes! I think that as technology develops, we can discover new planets out there.”

Mr. Laurro, a paraprofessional at the iSchool states on the discovery of Planet Nine, “It would be interesting, and I think it would be interesting to find more about it.”

Although scientists are making progress in uncovering the mysteries of Planet Nine, it still remains much of an enigma. Does Planet Nine exist? Is it even a planet? It is amazing that if it does exist, it can completely change our solar system forever. Theories about Planet Nine will be proven and others will be disproven. Scientists will have actually discovered a whole new planet. It is important to know that our understanding of the universe is constantly changing, and it will never remain the same.