Out past Pluto, in a galaxy not that far, far away (ours, in fact), may lie two planets larger than Earth. Astrophysicists studying “extreme trans-Neptunian objects” (ETNOs) now believe that a “Planet X” and a “Planet Y” are ripe for discovery, reports Space.com. If proven to be true, it will significantly alter what we currently believe about the solar system.
The research, published this week via two papers in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters journal, was conducted by astronomers at the University of Cambridge and the Complutense University of Madrid. In calculating the orbits of 13 ETNOs around Pluto, whose unique gravitational pull influences orbits of objects beyond Neptune, the scientist came to believe the orbit patterns indicate that another force is also acting upon the ETNOs. Perhaps, they said, it could even be an “icy super-Earth” that is 10 times larger than our Blue Marble.
Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, an astrophysicist at the UCM and co-author of the study, said: "The exact number is uncertain, given that the data that we have is limited, but our calculations suggest that there are at least two planets, and probably more, within the confines of our solar system.”
