Are two giant planets lurking beyond Pluto? Unusual orbits spotted in the outer solar system hint at the presence of large worlds

  • The aligned orbits of rocky bodies around Pluto hints at an unseen planet
  • Spanish scientists claim this world would be 10 times the mass of Earth
  • They believe this planet is moving in resonance with a much larger world
  • They calculated this world would have a mass between that of Mars and Saturn and would orbit 200 times Earth's distance from the sun

By Ellie Zolfagharifard

Published: 09:25 EST, 13 June 2014 | Updated: 14:17 EST, 13 June 2014

Pluto has long been regarded as something of an anomaly in our solar system.

Compared to neighbouring worlds, the dwarf planet has an extremely tilted orbit which sometimes brings it closer to the sun than Neptune.

Now, astronomers in Spain believe it has yet another unusual feature - the world may be harbouring two supersized planet just out of reach of our telescopes.

Astronomers in Spain believe Pluto (pictured) has yet another unusual feature - the world may be harbouring two supersized planets just out of reach of our telescopes. Researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid have found some strange patterns in the rocky objects around Pluto

Astronomers in Spain believe Pluto (pictured) has yet another unusual feature - the world may be harbouring two supersized planets just out of reach of our telescopes. Researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid have found some strange patterns in the rocky objects around Pluto

According to a report by Nicola Jenner in New Scientist, researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid have found some strange patterns in the rocky objects around Pluto.

In March, researchers discovered a dwarf planet called 2012 VP113, along with up to 900 other objects, orbiting in a similar formation.

These small objects have aligned orbits.

On their own, their mass is not large enough to be pulling on each other, and so researchers in Madrid believe that are being pulled by another, much larger object.

These are the discovery images of 2012 VP113. Three images of the night sky, each taken about two hours apart, were combined into one. The first image was artificially coloured red, second green, and third blue. 2012 VP113 moved between each image as seen by the red, green and blue dots

These are the discovery images of 2012 VP113. Three images of the night sky, each taken about two hours apart, were combined into one. The first image was artificially coloured red, second green, and third blue. 2012 VP113 moved between each image as seen by the red, green and blue dots

NEWLY-FOUND PLANET 2012 VP113 

In March, a frozen pink world was found lurking in the far reaches of the solar system.

The planet, which is seven and a half billion miles from the sun, was found by astronomers searching an area of space beyond Pluto.

Although it won't officially be named for a while, dwarf plant '2012 VP113' is being referred to as VP, or Biden, by scientists as they continue their research.

It is approximately 280 miles wide (450km) and orbits beyond the comet-rich Kuiper Belt in a region at the very edge of the system called the Oort cloud. 

The planet is the second to be spotted in what had been considered a celestial wasteland. In 2003 astronomers tracked Sedna, a planet named after a mythical Inuit goddess.

Yale University's senior research scientist David Rabinowitz, who was on the team that found the earlier planet, said the new discovery showed 'Sedna is not a freak'.

Scientists believe this object would be a world 10 times the mass of Earth and would orbit at 250 times Earth's distance from the sun.

And they think this planet is moving in resonance with a much larger world.  

They calculated that this second world would have a mass between that of Mars and Saturn, and would orbit 200 times Earth's distance from the sun.

Seeing these planets would be difficult as the large planets would be dim and moving slowly in a large circular orbit, according to New Scientist.

The observable solar system is divided into three distinct regions including the rocky terrestrial planets such as Earth, the gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter, and the icy Kuiper Belt objects - beyond which lies the Oort cloud.

Dr Scott Sheppard, of the Carnegie Institution, who was not involved in this research said: ‘The search for these distant inner Oort cloud objects beyond Sedna and 2012 VP113 should continue as they could tell us a lot about how our solar system formed and evolved.'

An orbit diagram for the outer solar system. The sun and terrestrial planets are at the centre. The orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are shown in purple. The Kuiper Belt, including Pluto, is shown by the dotted blue region. Sedna's orbit is shown in orange while 2012 VP113's orbit is shown in red

An orbit diagram for the outer solar system. The sun and terrestrial planets are at the centre. The orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are shown in purple. The Kuiper Belt, including Pluto, is shown by the dotted blue region. Sedna's orbit is shown in orange while 2012 VP113's orbit is shown in red

 

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Are the possible two new planets in the same plane of revolution? The schematic shows them crossing each other. Wouldn't there be a risk of collision?

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Cue all the Nabiru tinfoil hatters.

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Speaking acoustically and without defying the Laws of Gravity, I can categorically announce that this may just be plausible..........or not.

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Just like the so called US moon landing sites, these planets are invisible to the Hubble telescope.

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Silly person. Look it up, if you know how (I just can't be bothered to spoon feed idiots today..)

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In space nobody can hear your UTTER SPACED OUT MADNESS, ET Brains and other Alien Netters...

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"ARE 2 GIANT PLANETS LURKING BEYOND PLUTO ?" This question cannot be asked - ASTRONOMY SCIENCE - has told us that we have seen way out there with EXTRAVAGANTLY EXPENSIVE SOPHISTICATED SOUND IMAGING EQUIPMENT. SO HOW IS IT THAT WE MISSED 2 GIANT PLANETS SO CLOSE TO HOME ? WHEN THEY SAY THAT THEY HAVE SEEN ALMOST TO THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. which story is a pack of lies being shoved up us dummies yet again ?

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Can the scientific types please explain exactly how a 'planet' lurks? Does it wear the interplanetary equivalent of a grey raincoat? Does it just 'pop out' from behind a strategically place 'space tree'?

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Hi Rosie - - - It must really annoy you that you can't post in green ink. Ha Ha Ha really made me chortle... just know the kind, green biro, tinfoil hat...

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"ARE TWO GIANT PLANETS LURKING BEYOND PLUTO?" This question cannot be asked - ASTRONOMY SCIENCE has told us that that we have seen way out there with EXTRAVAGANTLY - EXPENSIVE - SOPHISTICATED SOUND IMAGING EQUIPMENT - SO HOW DID WE MISS 2 PLANETS SO CLOSE TO HOME ? WHEN THEY SAY WE CAN SEE ALMOST TO THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. Which story is a pack of lies shoved up us dummies, again ?

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this will really get the Niburu nutcases on you tube going!

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I know, and as an astronomer, I'm dreading it

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skyguy - Facts are facts, truth is truth. The deluded have nothing but stupidity going for them, soon they'll be no more, like the old witch-burning loons of old..

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This would not be so surprising. Pluto itself was only finally 'discovered' in 1930; and that was only because Percival Lowell calculated it's exact position, so that Clyde Tombaugh knew when and where to point his telescope. The vast distances makes it very difficult to see remote bodies that are not reflecting solar light.

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Objects are so small (relatively) at distances so great it's easy to see why it's taken this long to discover this. Very little reflected light out there for direct viewing. Detecting planets around other stars is "almost" easier because they pass in front of their star and occlude its light. Implying that there are zillions of planets we can't / won't see because they aren't in the right plane

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