A supposed “planet nine” that lies hidden at the edge of our solar system could actually be something else entirely, according to scientists. The unexplained movement of objects at the edge of our solar system has led some to propose that they are being influenced by another world, hidden in the dark distance of our planetary neighbourhood, that they have referred to as planet nine. Objects at the far reaches of the solar system behave as if they are being pulled around by an object that we cannot see, which is probably another planet, they suggest. But a new study by researchers Harsh Mathur, a professor of physics at Case Western Reserve University, and Katherine Brown, an associate professor of physics at Hamilton College, say that those movements are instead the result of a modified law of gravity. The scientists plotted what would happen if the objects were being governed by a theory known as Modified Newtonian Dynamics or MOND. That suggests that Newton’s usual gravity only works up to a point – that in the outer regions of galaxies, for instance, gravity behaves in unusual ways. They found that the data lined up, and applying the MOND theory to the existing observations seemed to predict them exactly. “The alignment was striking,” said Professor Mathur. They note that the findings do not necessarily rule out planet nine – or another explanation for what is going on. Some researchers have suggested other explanations for what the objects could be, for instance, while others have suggested that the claimed effect is just the result of when the distant objects tend to be observed. “Regardless of the outcome, this work highlights the potential for the outer solar system to serve as a laboratory for testing gravity and studying fundamental problems of physics,” said Professor Brown. The findings are reported in a paper, ‘Modified Newtonian Dynamics as an Alternative to the Planet Nine Hypothesis’, published in The Astronomical Journal. Read More Watch live: Amazon launches first internet satellites aiming to rival Starlink Stargazing in October: A sleeping giant Prada to design Nasa’s next-gen space suits for Artemis astronauts

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Experts have discovered a fluffy “alien” planet where it rains sand in stunning new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. The bizarre-looking planet is officially known as exoplanet WASP-107b and has a cloud of silicate sand that exists high within its atmosphere giving it its strange fluffy appearance. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been responsible for some astounding findings since it was launched in 2021, including a mysterious galaxy shaped like a question mark. Now, observations made by the telescope have been used by experts who have been able to determine the atmospheric composition of the exoplanet that was pictured. A team of European astronomers found that water vapour, sulfur dioxide and silicate sand clouds existed in the exoplanet’s diverse atmosphere. The exoplanet WASP-107b is one of the lowest-density planets that astronomers are aware of. To put it into context, it is the same size as Jupiter, but has just 12 per cent of Jupiter’s mass. Thanks to its low density, it has allowed scientists to take a deeper look into the planet’s atmosphere, exploring 50 times deeper than would be possible with denser planets. The discovery of sulfur dioxide was a surprise because the host star it orbits only emits a small amount of high-energy light photons. But, its low-density atmosphere allows the photons to penetrate WASP-107b’s atmosphere where the chemical reaction that creates sulfur dioxide can occur. They also discovered that it essentially rains sand on the exoplanet due to the presence of clouds high in the atmosphere made up of fine silicate particles. Experts believe the clouds of sand form in the same way as rain does on Earth as the droplets continually fall and condense back into cloud form. The lead author of the study, Leen Decin from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, explained: “JWST is revolutionizing exoplanet characterisation, providing unprecedented insights at remarkable speed.” She added: “The discovery of clouds of sand, water, and sulfur dioxide on this fluffy exoplanet… is a pivotal milestone. It reshapes our understanding of planetary formation and evolution, shedding new light on our own solar system.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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