Planet 9 could cause disaster for the solar system

Research by British scientists shows that if it really exists, the ninth planet could cause terrible chaos for the Solar System once the Sun dies.

Planet 9 could knock out the giant planets in the Solar System: Photo: University of Warwick.

In a recently published study, Dr. Dimitri Veras from the Department of Physics, University of Warwick, UK, stated that if Planet 9, a hypothetical planet located in the outer rim of the Solar System, exists, it could cause a catastrophe in the Solar System once the Sun dies out., tpigScience Daily.

According to the scenario previously constructed by astronomers, when the Sun begins to die in about 7 billion years, its mass will decrease by half and the Sun will swell, swallowing the Earth before cooling down and becoming a white dwarf. This process will push Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to a safe location far away.

However, Dr. Veras found that the existence of Planet 9 could change that scenario. He discovered that this planet might not be pushed away like the other planets, but instead move chaotically with the four gas giants of the solar system, most notably Uranus and Neptune. As a result, they risk colliding with Planet 9 and being thrown out of the solar system forever.

Using a special model to simulate the death of planetary systems, Dr. Veras mapped out various locations where Planet Nine could potentially change the future of the solar system. The more massive and farther away the planet is, the higher the risk of it colliding with other planets in the solar system.

Dr Veras’s discovery adds to our understanding of planetary structures in other solar systems. Nearly half of all existing white dwarfs contain rocky matter, potentially representing debris ejected by similar processes in other planetary systems.

"The existence of a large planet in the distance could fundamentally change the fate of the solar system. Uranus and Neptune may no longer be safe from the death of the Sun. The fate of the solar system will depend on the mass and orbital properties of Planet Nine, if it exists," Dr. Veras explained.

According to VNE