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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Medieval astronomical records, such as the Bayeux Tapestry [wikipedia.org], could help narrow down [livescience.com] the location (or at least infer the existence) of the hypothetical Planet Nine [wikipedia.org]:

Scientists suspect the existence of Planet Nine because it would explain some of the gravitational forces at play in the Kuiper Belt, a stretch of icy bodies beyond Neptune. But no one has been able to detect the planet yet, though astronomers are scanning the skies for it with tools such as the Subaru Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano.

Medieval records could provide another tool, said Pedro Lacerda, a Queen's University astronomer and the other leader of the project.

"We can take the orbits of comets currently known and use a computer to calculate the times when those comets would be visible in the skies during the Middle Ages," Lacerda told Live Science. "The precise times depend on whether our computer simulations include Planet Nine. So, in simple terms, we can use the medieval comet sightings to check which computer simulations work best: the ones that include Planet Nine or the ones that do not."

Also at Queen's University Belfast [qub.ac.uk].

Related: "Planet Nine" Might Explain the Solar System's Tilt [soylentnews.org]
Planet Nine's Existence Disfavoured by New Data [soylentnews.org]
Study of ETNOs Supports Planet Nine's Existence [soylentnews.org]
Passing Star Influenced Comet Orbits in Our Solar System 70,000 Years Ago [soylentnews.org]

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