By Kiran Jayasinghe
We’ve all learn’t that there are eight planets in the solar system – at least most of us. For the longest time, we thought there were nine planets. But several years ago, astronomers kicked out Pluto, and called it a dwarf planet. Since then, we’ve been learning that there are eight planets. Now, we might have to start learning that there are nine planets again – because astronomers at CalTech might have found a new planet, named Planet X.
These astronomers studied six objects in the Kuiper Belt (that’s the part of the solar system beyond Neptune) and observed that the objects were in a strange arrangement. They decided that a bigger, giant planet must be pulling on them. They thought that this planet would be the cause of the objects’ tilt, orbit, and other characteristics. And they’re probably correct.
Planet X is supposed to be the size of Neptune. It has a highly elongated orbit, taking about 15,000 years to revolve around the sun. Now, if Planet X is at the far end of it’s orbit, we most likely, will not be able to see it for a long, long, time. If Planet X is at the closer end of it’s orbit, we might be able to spot it with one of our largest telescopes, like the one in Hawaii – CELT. That would be one great discovery.
Learning about Planet Nine made me think about our visit to the Lowell Observatory, in Flagstaff, AZ. Pluto was discovered at the Lowell Observatory, in 1930, by Clyde Tombaugh. We went to the Lowell Observatory on our trip to Arizona, and it was pretty cool! We saw the Clark Refracting Telescope, and the Pluto telescope. And yes, you guessed it, the Pluto telescope was the telescope used to find Pluto. The Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, and became a National Historic Landmark in 1965. It receives 85,000 visitors per year – Wow! Most of them look at the telescopes, some watch shows and presentations, and still others take walks along the trails.