Ever since Pluto lost its status as our solar system’s 9th planet, scientists have been eager to find a replacement. According to new research, the existence of such a body isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Ever since Pluto lost its status as our solar system’s 9th planet, scientists have been eager to find a replacement.
According to Dr. Dimitri Veras of the University of Warwick, the existence of such a body isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
In fact, it could cause some serious chaos in our solar system.
As 21st century humans, we will be spared such calamity as the wholly disastrous event Veras predicts won’t come to pass for another 7 billion years.
That’s when our sun will likely begin to die, expanding greatly in size and absorbing Earth in the process.
While it’s long been believed the more distant planets had a chance at survival, Veras says the existence of a large and far-flung 9th would greatly diminish those odds.
According to simulations, there is a good chance that our solar system’s giants like Neptune and Uranus will not, as current thought suggests, be pushed outward to a safe distance.
Rather, the force of our dying sun could draw number 9 inward, possibly causing other surviving bodies to be ejected from the solar system entirely.
On an up note, Veras’ findings could greatly advance our understanding of systems already on death’s doorstep.
