Gå ubegrenset med Magzter GOLD

Gå ubegrenset med Magzter GOLD

Få ubegrenset tilgang til over 9000 magasiner, aviser og premiumhistorier for bare

$149.99
 
$74.99/År
The Perfect Holiday Gift Gift Now

Signs point to Planet 9

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

|

July 2025

We may have found the first direct evidence of a ninth major planet in the Solar System

Signs point to Planet 9

Suggestions of a ninth planet in our Solar System have been rumbling on for years now. Some astronomers argue that the clustering and orbital tilt of a group of trans-Neptunian objects indicate gravitational shepherding by an unknown planet. This hypothetical Planet 9, probably similar to Neptune, has been calculated to be on an elliptical orbit coming to around 300 AU (1 AU is the Earth-Sun distance). However, despite several surveys, no such remote new planet has been spotted, and the claim remains controversial.

This lack of observational evidence isn't itself a damning outcome. The predicted orbit for Planet 9 is at least 10 times further from the Sun than Neptune, so the planet would reflect precious little light back to Earth. There's also a large degree of uncertainty around the proposed planet's orbital parameters and therefore exactly where in the sky searches should be targeted. Even if it is out there, Planet 9 would be easy to miss.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

MOONWATCH

January's top lunar feature to observe

time to read

2 mins

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Speed up your processing workflow

How to use Photoshop's Actions tool to drastically cut your processing time

time to read

3 mins

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Chasing Canada's polar lights

With solar maximum peaking and a new Moon promising dark skies, Jamie Carter travels to Churchill, Manitoba to hunt the Northern Lights - and dodge polar bears – in Canada's far north

time to read

7 mins

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Beyond Pluto: The search for the hidden planets

Could one – or even two - undiscovered planets lurk at the edges of our Solar System? Nicky Jenner explores how close we are to finding the elusive 'Planet 9'

time to read

6 mins

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Jupiter moon events

Jupiter is a magnificent planet to observe.

time to read

2 mins

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

What samples from space have taught us

Alastair Gunn explains what scientists have learnt in the 20 years since the first unmanned mission brought materials back from alien worlds

time to read

3 mins

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

The Milky Way as you've never seen it before

This is the largest low-frequency radio colour image of our Galaxy ever assembled

time to read

1 min

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Merger of ‘impossibly' massive black holes explained

Scientists discover how enormous, fast-spinning black holes can exist after all

time to read

1 mins

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Lunar occultation of the Pleiades

BEST TIME TO SEE: 27 January from 20:30 UT

time to read

1 min

January 2026

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

The Universe's expansion may be slowing down

New study suggests current theories of dark energy could be wrong

time to read

1 mins

January 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size

Holiday offer front
Holiday offer back