A new planet could be hiding at the edge of the solar system in the Kuiper Belt. Scientists at the University of Arizona suspect that this planetary-mass object could be as big as the size of Mars and if turns out to be what it is being speculated to be then the solar system might get its tenth planet.
Scientists and astronomers have been on the lookout for another planet ever since Pluto lost its status as the ninth member of the solar system and now it looks like they have achieved a breakthrough in this direction. According to Gizmodo, two scientists working at the University of Arizona suspect that a unique planetary-mass object could be lying at the edge of the solar system. This planetary-mass object is said to be the size of Mars and it is lying in the Kuiper Belt.
The researchers say that this proposed tenth planet would be at distance of 55 astronomical units and it is pretty near to the location of the ninth planet which is also believed to be residing in the Kuiper Belt at a distance of about 700 AU. Also, the scientists theorize that the mass of this new-found planet stands at somewhere between that of the Earth and Mars.
Nevertheless, it would take some time and further evidence to prove the existence of this tenth planet. Caltech astronomer Konstantin Batygin has said that what the scientists have come forward with is not a very strong theory. The planetary-mass object that they are referring to is not pretty huge and therefore, it is difficult to believe that it could be the size of Mars and exist at a distance of 100 AU. He also asserted that it is difficult for the said tenth planet to conform to the official definition of a planet because of its small size.
