Planet Nine (hypothetical)
Position on the route: 91/130 · level needed 560 · journey (Mk0 engine) 142.4 h
By the numbers
| Status | Not yet observed |
|---|---|
| Estimated mass | ≈ 5–10 Earths |
| Estimated distance | ≈ 400–800 AU |
| Proposed | 2016, Batygin and Brown |
The story
Planet Nine is a hypothetical body said to lie at the far edge of the Solar System. In 2016 Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown showed that the orbits of several distant Kuiper-belt objects (such as Sedna) cluster in one direction, and that this could be explained by a planet of 5–10 Earth masses circling hundreds of AU from the Sun, with an orbit of the order of 10,000 years.
It has never been observed; some researchers argue the clustering is an observational bias. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s all-sky survey is looking for the answer. Its position in the game is only an estimate: a hypothetical destination.
Missions
- Rubin Observatory (2025–): the survey
- Subaru and Dark Energy Camera surveys
Colony note
It may be a dark ice giant; an orbital station only.
☠ A dark ice giant hundreds of AU from the Sun: no surface to land on. An orbital station only.
What probes bring back
- The clustering of the orbits of several Kuiper-belt objects points to a planet of 5–10 Earth masses (Batygin and Brown, 2016). It has not yet been seen.
- A hypothetical body: survey telescopes such as the Rubin Observatory are searching. Its position in the game is only an estimate.