Astronomers may have identified the first direct hint of Planet Nine, the hypothetical world long proposed to exist at the outer edge of the solar system. ZME Science reported the finding on Tuesday, describing it as a possible first piece of direct evidence for the planet.
The News International also covered the result, reporting that the possible evidence turned up in infrared data. Minute Mirror reported that researchers at a Taiwan university were behind the work.
Planet Nine has never been observed directly. Its existence has been inferred from the way distant objects in the outer solar system appear to cluster and move, a pattern that has led scientists to propose a large unseen planet could be shaping those orbits. Until now, that case has rested on those indirect signs rather than any detection of the planet itself.
The new claim is based on infrared observations, according to the reports. Infrared light can reveal heat, which is one reason researchers have looked to that part of the spectrum in the search for a faint, distant body. The reports describe the result as possible evidence, not a confirmed detection.
No full article text was available, so details such as the specific signal, the instruments used and the researchers involved could not be independently verified from the material summarized here. The finding has not been described as conclusive.
What to watch next: whether the team's infrared result holds up under peer review and independent follow-up observations.
