back to article How hard will it be to measure Planet Nine?

Planet 9 will be easier to find if we know what we're looking for, so a French astronomer has set himself the task of trying to wrap the enigma in some parameters. When the idea of a ninth planet (using the guidelines that excluded Pluto from planet status) was mooted last year, the CalTech group that ran the orbital maths …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Pluto = the REAL planet 9!!

    No, I'm still not over it...

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Pluto = the REAL planet 9!!

      Why not seek a job a Trump Tweet Central?

      1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

        Make Pluto Great Again?

        Now you have a slogan.

  2. redpawn

    Stop Looking

    for the next planet. We've been twisting the definition of planet for a long time. Find objects orbiting the Sun and explore them.

  3. Winkypop Silver badge
    Flame

    Planet 10

    Name it: "Pluto B"

    No, I'm not over it!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Planet 10

      Nah, "Goofy"

  4. Alistair
    Alien

    Hmmm

    I think we should just call the puppeteers. Pretty sure they have all the measurements.

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: Hmmm

      Call all you want. They will not answer. The cowards are hiding.

  5. Timmy B

    I still want it to be called

    "Planet 9 from Outer Space!"

    Unspeakable horrors from outer space......

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Boffin

      Re: I still want it to be called

      Maybe it is, unless we re-define the boundaries of the Solar System. According to what I saw on Stargazing Live the other night, planet 9 is further out than Voyager, and last year we were being told that Voyager had left the Solar System.

      1. FrogsAndChips Silver badge

        Re: I still want it to be called

        it wouldn't be the first time we redefine the boundaries:

        https://xkcd.com/1189/

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
          Thumb Up

          Re: I still want it to be called

          "https://xkcd.com/1189/"

          LOL, thanks for that :-)

        2. Julz

          Re: I still want it to be called

          https://xkcd.com/473/

    2. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: I still want it to be called ...

      ... Planet Claire!

  6. poohbear

    It's in the stars

    The big question is, how will the venerable art of astrology deal with this disruptor?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's in the stars

      They'll say it is the cause for astrology previously not being 100% accurate, and promise from now on it will be.

      1. Rich 11

        Re: It's in the stars

        And homeopaths will unite to buy time on one of those 30m telescopes, enabling them to focus Planet 9's light* on a vial of distilled water so it can be diluted, succussed and used as a cure** for icy haemorrhoids or something.

        * Don't even start...

        ** Really. Don't start.

  7. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

    That planet in the "artist's impression" (or expression) shows thunderstorms...

    ...shurely it would be too cold for that? It's basically frozen interstellar leftovers.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: That planet in the "artist's impression" (or expression) shows thunderstorms...

      If it is a large planet, then internal heat would drive atmospheric convection, so thunderstorms could be a possibility.

      Despite its distance from the Sun and cloudtop bollock-chilling temperature of 52K, Neptune has the fastest winds in the Solar System at 2200kmh and incredibly active storm systems. The role of internal heat in powering Neptune's weather is shown by the fact its near twin, Uranus, despite being much closer to the Sun, has a much calmer atmosphere. Uranus has no apparent internal heat source, and no one knows why.

  8. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Chemist

      Re: " it would mass about ten times more than Earth"

      "Weigh is way better, but not whey. Too cheesy."

      Weigh is certainly a verb but definitely NOT the correct word to use in this context. Mass is the correct noun and so the construct should be .... .it would have a mass about ten times more than Earth

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

          Re: " it would mass about ten times more than Earth"

          Verbing weirds language

          -- Calvin ca. 1990

          Verbing makes language more orthogonal and expressive.

          -- Me ca. now

  9. sisk

    Apparently there's a new definition of 'planet' being pushed by someone - I'm not sure who and this comes from bar chatter, so grains of salt aplenty - that would boost the number of planets in our solar system to over 200 (I forget the exact number). This definition would include not only Pluto and all the other dwarf planets but also most if not all of the moons in our solar system. Basically, it's anything with enough gravity to pull itself into a sphereoid. Personally I inwardly groaned at this definition.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Tikimon
      Devil

      Well, we can't have Pluto feeling excluded, that will hurt its self-esteem and lead to behavioral problems. Not to mention the poor asteroids, another excluded minority. So instead, we'll name everything a planet and ALL the space rocks can be a winner!

      (so glad I'm not in school anymore)

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Trollface

        Yeah, those plantary microaggressions are taking their toll, Pluto is currently thinking of sulking silently in its orbit for the next 15 million years.

        Better set up safe spaces beyond the Kuiper Belt.

  10. adam 40 Silver badge

    It will need a name

    Two suggestions:

    Plutwo

    and

    Myanus

  11. Yesnomaybe

    Shame!

    Shame about Pluto. We could now have been looking for planet "X". Instead we are looking for "IX"

    OK, it's not a disaster, there COULD be many machines on IX.

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