March 30, 2014
A HUGE planet dubbed the "Super Earth", which is ten times bigger than our own, could be orbiting the Sun at the far edge of the solar system.
A huge planet ten times bigger than earth could be orbiting the Sun at the edge of the solar system
March 30, 2014
A HUGE planet dubbed the "Super Earth", which is ten times bigger than our own, could be orbiting the Sun at the far edge of the solar system.
A huge planet ten times bigger than earth could be orbiting the Sun at the edge of the solar system
Scientists today revealed the massive planet may be located past the Kuiper Belt, a comet-rich area which is also home to dwarf planet Pluto.
The revelation comes after the most distant dwarf planet orbiting the sun, called the 2012 VP113, was discovered by astronomers.
A study published in journal Nature said the similarity in orbits of this new 280 mile wide dwarf planet and the Sedna dwarf planet points to an undiscovered "Super Earth".
The massive planet may be located past the Kuiper Belt
Dr Linda Elkins-Tanton, of the Carnegie Institution in America, said: "This is an extraordinary result that redefines our understanding of our solar system."
The 2012 VP113 dwarf planet is located at the very edge of the solar system in a region called the Oort cloud.
It was discovered by researchers high up the Chilean Andes mountains using the new Dark Energy Camera (DECam).
Dr Sheppard said: "Some of these inner Oort cloud objects could rival the size of Mars or even Earth.
"This is because many of the inner Oort cloud objects are so distant even very large ones would be too faint to detect with current technology."
The revelation comes after the most distant dwarf planet orbiting the sun was discovered
The 2012 VP113 dwarf planet lies 80 times further from the Sun than the Earth is.
Researchers in the Andes calculated that around 900 objects which have orbits like Sedna and 2012 VP113 could exist at the edge of the solar system.
The object would be larger in diameter than 1,000km (621 miles). Pluto is also classified as a dwarf planet and has a diameter of 2,302km (1.430 miles).
Courtesy: Express UK
