• Question: Do you believe in Planet X

    Asked by peter296 to Ollie on 30 Apr 2020.
    • Photo: Ollie Otter

      Ollie Otter answered on 30 Apr 2020:

      Hi Peter,

      An interesting question! First of all, believing is for religion, whichever one you prefer.

      As a scientist though, for all other matters I prefer some proof and concrete evidence before I ‘believe’ any remark or statement…

      Do I think it’s possible there is a large undiscovered planet in our solar system?

      I would say it’s unlikely. With all the amazing astronomical instruments we have these days it would have been discovered by now. We have already managed to discover thousands of planets around other, very distant stars. It would be a bit embarrassing if we weren’t able to discover one close to home, wouldn’t you say??

      By the way, we live in a free country and you are free to believe whatever you want!
      You should never let anyone tell you what you must think or believe, but make up your own mind about things. That’s what science is all about: questioning things and being critical. It’s a good way to treat life in general.
      Hmmm, I must sound awfully boring, but that’s my advice to you anyway 😉

Comments

  • Photo: peter296

    peter296 commented on :

    Thanks.

  • Photo: Michael

    Michael commented on :

    I agree, believing is not part of what we do, ideally.
    Its about whether one accepts the evidence (Whatever that might be) about this supposed planet X. You need to look at what is proposed by the people involved and whether there is a simpler explanation than a new planet, Occams razor.
    MAybe they missed some simple effect or there is an error in the model or simulation that they use. There also needs to be some prediction about where to look for this planet and what the consequences of another planet will be.
    This kind of exploration has a very, very high bar and paraphrasing Sagan: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

  • Photo: Dimitar

    Dimitar commented on :

    Cool question, Peter.
    As my colleagues say, science is about facts, about proofs of hypotheses, about finding evidence to confirm or rule out assumptions…
    However, it is not always possible to find proof and evidence. Some scientists believed there are black holes way before that was proven that black holes exist. And last year they even took a “photo” of a black hole.

    Then also Pluto, which was believed to be the 9th planet, was discarded as a planet. But then redefined as a (dwarf) planet. So, things change and that is because we find new facts, we make new discoveries. Science evolves. And every hypothesis is in practice a believe for some people…

    But to answer your question. We still haven’t understood all mechanics of the solar system. According to some theories there should be another very massive planet that has so elongated orbit that has still not passed in our observable field, i.e. Planet X. By the way, there is a very interesting science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov called “Nemesis” (about Planet X). Do I believe in Planet X? I do, up till certain extent, and am just waiting to see whether and when the space and planet specialists will prove or disprove this idea 🙂