Does This Planet EXIST... And Will It KILL Earth?

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Does This Planet Exist And Will It Kill Earth?</h4>

Our solar system is home to eight planets, one star, 146 moons, and a cosmic plethora of comets, dwarf planets and asteroids. Is this the whole story though, or are there more objects than we currently know? Some think there just might be a ninth planet, and they also believe it could have cataclysmic consequences for Earth. 

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; Does this planet exist and will it kill Earth?

The solar system is defined as the Sun and all the bodies gravitationally bound to it. Eight planets orbit our star, with the first four residing in the inner solar system. These are all similar to Earth, being small and rocky. Mercury is the smallest and closest to the Sun, then further out sits Venus, Earth and finally Mars. Four more planets can be found in the outer solar system, these being Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. All four are much larger than any inner planet, the first two being gas giants and the last are ice giants. Nothing larger than the planets (in general) orbits the Sun, though, and Jupiter is the largest of all. 

Nevertheless, there are theories that we’re missing something; that, actually, there’s another planet-sized world somewhere out there, evading our eye. So, could a ninth planet really be possible? Given its potential size and impact, you might expect scientists to have already figured this out. But, claims are that if it does exist, it’s too far away to be easily seen. That said, there could still be evidence that it is out there.

Mathematically, it’s said (by some) that our solar system behaves as if, yes, there could be an extra planet. It’s a highly debated topic in the field, but researchers nickname this potential new world as “Planet 9”, or “Planet X”. Ultimately, though, it can be called anything you like at the moment, since naming rights go to the discoverer - and it hasn’t yet been discovered. 

So, why do we think it might be there? In 2015, Caltech researchers created computer simulations of our solar system. These were mathematical models, and they provided apparent evidence for a large, unknown mass, somewhere in a wide, elongated orbit around the Sun. It’s a prediction formed due to objects in the Kuiper belt possessing peculiar orbits; unusual routes through space that might only make sense if there were something else having an effect over them. Past the orbit of Neptune, the Kuiper Belt is an icy ring surrounding our system, populated by frozen bodies. It’s here that Pluto lives, on the very edge of our solar neighborhood. Pluto is the most famous example of a Kuiper Belt object, or a KBO for short. KBOs can also be classified as trans-Neptubian objects, or TNOs, which are simply objects in our system beyond Neptune. 

Back to the study, though, and a handful of small KBOs were found to be bunched together in an unexpected way. They follow orbits which point and tilt in the same direction. They behave remarkably similar to one another. The chances of this happening randomly are incredibly small, however, almost impossible. So, researchers first checked if their KBO cluster might instead be being guided by another, more massive KBO. But this was found to be impossible, as well, since it would require the Kuiper Belt to have 100 times its actual mass. Still, it would appear that something is exerting a gravitational influence… and, many have interpreted the study to mean that there is another planet drawing and anchoring these errant KBOs.

Calculations point toward it being up to 10 times the mass of Earth, with an average orbit that’s 20 times the distance of Neptune. Neptune is the outermost known planet, sitting roughly 2.8 billion miles from the Sun. At such a distance, it takes 165 years to complete one journey around our star. For our theoretical Planet 9, however, it would take significantly longer - somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 years. It’s one reason why finding and tracking such a world would be difficult. That said, if it is there, then it’s also the most dominant planet in the solar system. Planet 9 would (and should) have an influence over a larger region than any other planet in our group. It’s easy to see, then, why some astronomers are excited by what might be found. And, in the decade since the original Caltech study, more and more have turned their attention to understanding the true nature of our local space. The strange orbits of certain KBOs could be said to constitute the first evidence of a new planet found since the 19th century. 

And it isn’t only those bunched-up few; there are other potential examples of Planet 9 at work. In 2003, the dwarf planet Sedna was discovered in the Kuiper Belt. And, again, it was (and is) unusual. Typically, KBOs follow a cycle of being gravitationally dispelled by Neptune, then drifting back into its influence. It’s what shapes their path through space. Sedna is unique, though, since it never once gets close to Neptune. Originally, the leading proposed explanation was that a passing (non-solar system) star is what caused this effect. But research also shows that it could instead be Planet 9 that’s to blame for Sedna’s irregularities. 

Elsewhere, in 2014 we discovered the dwarf planet 2012 VP113, also known as “Biden”. It’s strikingly similar to Sedna in its peculiarities… leading some onlookers to, again, paint a radical new picture of how the solar system really works. To some, it’s the immense gravity of Planet 9 that’s gradually pulling (or shepherding) these distant objects away from Neptune, into more eccentric travel paths. 

In more recent times, in 2024, a paper was published comparing the potential effects of Planet 9 to those of galactic tides. Planet 9 naysayers argue that galactic tides could cause the same effect. These are similar to ocean tides, but arise due to a combination of massive gravitational forces that swirl across the Milky Way galaxy. Over vast periods, these external effects can (and do) perturb the orbits of stars, like the sun. And, ultimately, galactic tides have a huge bearing on exactly how galaxies are shaped. As such, they could in theory quite easily serve to move a few KBOs out of place. However, simulations of galactic tides only were reportedly unable to explain the Kuiper belt mysteries that we’re seeing. Meanwhile, the sims that included Planet 9 as a point of reference reportedly matched exactly what we see in reality. 

For now, the fact is that we are still dealing in just simulations, though. The extra planet is yet to be discovered and confirmed. There are imminent projects - such as the Vera Rubin Observatory, slated to open soon in Chile - that could make the breakthrough. But, until then, we’re searching in the dark. Which is perhaps concerning because, finally, there are some theories toward an extra solar system planet being more than just a discovery waiting to be made; rather, there are some who believe that it could be a doomsday waiting to happen.

It’s a popular end-of-the-world scenario, called the Nibiru Cataclysm. It says that the extra planet is called Nibiru and certain groups believe that, in the 21st century, it will have a disastrous encounter (or even collision) with Earth. Here, though, there’s not quite so much by way of academic research to back the view up. The origin of most Nibiru Cataclysm theories lies with the psychic, Nancy Lieder. In the mid-90s, she claimed to have made contact with aliens, called the Zetans. She started the website ZetaTalk, amidst the belief that she had established communication via a specialist brain implant. It was on ZetaTalk that she spread supposedly Zetan ideas. Including, most notably, a warning regarding Nibiru, about how it would soon destroy the Earth. Her theories and projections caused panic at the time, particularly in the run up to May, 2003, when Lieder claimed Nibiru would come so close that it would dramatically disrupt (and perhaps even halt) the rotation of our world. From here, all forms of hell on Earth would unfold.

Obviously, this never happened. Lieder later claimed it was part of a so-called White Lie, designed to fool the establishment… and she opted to withhold the actual date from that moment onwards. Other groups became inspired by her ideas, though, and came up with their own dates on which the same (or a similar) hidden-planet event could unfold. One of these was of course December 21, 2012, which also clearly never happened. 

From a more scientific perspective, if a planet matching Lieder’s claims ever were to come close to us, then yes it would almost definitely kill us. But, the good news is that… no one seriously expects that to happen. If there were one close enough, we’d simply know about it by now. And, as for the distant Planet 9 predicted by some astronomers… even if it were the real deal, its orbit is so extremely large that there’s actually more danger of Jupiter destroying us. Which is already almost impossible.

Planet 9 may exist. It genuinely could be discovered in our lifetimes. But, you can also rest easy, because even if it’s out there… it isn’t a threat.