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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have published results of a simulation suggesting that Planet 9 [wikipedia.org] could be an exoplanet that was captured by our solar system [alphagalileo.org]:

"Planet 9 may very well have been 'shoved' by other planets, and when it ended up in an orbit that was too wide around its own star, our sun may have taken the opportunity to steal and capture Planet 9 from its original star. When the sun later departed from the stellar cluster in which it was born, Planet 9 was stuck in an orbit around the sun", says Alexander Mustill. "There is still no image of Planet 9, not even a point of light. We don't know if it is made up of rock, ice, or gas. All we know is that its mass is probably around ten times the mass of earth."

It requires a lot more research before it can be ascertained that Planet 9 is the first exoplanet in our solar system. If the theory is correct, Alexander Mustill believes that the study of space and the understanding of the sun and the Earth will take a giant leap forward. "This is the only exoplanet that we, realistically, would be able to reach using a space probe", he says.

Is there an exoplanet in the Solar system? [oxfordjournals.org] (DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slw075)

Previously: Evidence of Another Planet in Our Solar System [soylentnews.org]
Astrophysicists Narrow the Search for "Planet Nine" [soylentnews.org]

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