Astronomers from Sweden and Mexico are claiming to have discovered the elusive "Planet X," a hypothetical planet at the edge of the solar system that could help explain many of the anomalies in the orbits of planets such as Neptune and Uranus, according to Ars Technica.
Pre-prints of two papers, which can be read here and here, outline the findings that were made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.
"Simple arguments convince us that this object cannot be an ordinary star. We argue that the object is most likely part of the solar system, in prograde motion, albeit at a distance too far to be detectable at other wavelengths," reads one of the papers.
Due to the fact that the papers are pre-prints, they have yet to undergo scientific peer review, meaning the validity of the findings are still uncertain. Many peers, including Cal Tech astronomer Mike Brown, are already voicing their skepticism of the findings, The Washington Post reported.
"The logical leaps are sort of astounding," he said. "What they really saw they saw is a little blip and then six months later another little blip. There's so many reasons why they can't possibly be correct. It's embarrassing to the field."
Scott Sheppard, a planetary scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, shares a similar opinion, according to Scientific American.
"Anything could create two random detections, and you can always fit a straight line through any two points," he said.
Further research and peer-review will tell whether or not the findings hold any weight.
