A strange twist has been discovered in the Solar System: Is there another hidden planet?

A strange curvature in the Kuiper Belt, located in the outermost regions of the Solar System, has scientists pursuing a new possibility: a mysterious, as-yet-undiscovered celestial body called "Planet Y."

Researchers from Princeton University have detected an unusual "kink" in this belt of icy objects that extends beyond Neptune. This anomaly reveals that the Kuiper Belt, while it should lie in a straight line, is tilted by about 15 degrees.

According to scientists, this deviation may be due to the gravity of an unseen planet beyond Neptune.

BETWEEN EARTH AND MERCURY

The research team calls this new celestial body "Planet Y."

This planet, which has not yet been directly observed, that is, has not been fully proven, is thought to have a size between Earth and Mercury, according to current data, and to be located in the farthest regions of the Solar System.

"This study is not a planet discovery, but rather an exploration of a puzzle for which a planet is the most likely solution," the researchers wrote in their paper published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

THE NEVERENDING SEARCH

The Kuiper Belt is a vast region that includes Pluto, once considered the ninth planet. Interest in the region has not diminished since Pluto was upgraded to "dwarf planet" status in 2006, but observations remain extremely difficult due to the vast distances.

In the past, astronomer Percival Lowell proposed the "Planet X" hypothesis, attempting to explain irregularities in the orbits of Neptune and Uranus with a hidden planet. However, this mystery was resolved in the 1990s when data from the Voyager 2 space probe showed that Neptune's mass was lower than expected.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “PLANT Y” AND “PLANT NINTH”

The “Planet Nine” theory, which resurfaced in 2016, proposed a much larger celestial body located far beyond Pluto.

The Princeton team's proposed "Planet Y" is described as a planet that is smaller, closer together, and may have a different mass distribution.

According to scientists, these two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive; theoretically, there could be more than one hidden planet outside the Solar System.

A promising development that could solve this mystery comes from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. A 10-year observing program, set to begin at the end of 2025, will scan the Kuiper Belt with unprecedented precision.

Thanks to these observations, researchers believe that the possible "Planet Y" could be detected within two to three years.