The discovery of a new dwarf planet called “The Goblin” is
redefining our solar system. The planet’s massively elongated orbit
suggests object is influenced by theoretical giant Planet Nine (Planet X) in
the Oort Cloud region.
Planet X, an as-of-yet unseen world could be shaping the orbits of
smaller, extremely distant objects like the newly described 2015 TG387,
nicknamed “The Goblin.” The Goblin is likely spherical and about as wide as
the state of Massachusetts. And much like a handful of other distant solar
system inhabitants, its orbital behavior might signal the presence of Planet X lurking in the distant outer dominions of
the solar system.
The Goblin is the third minor planet to have been found in the outer
solar system, following the discoveries of Sedna and, recently,
another object called 2012 VP113. This region,
which was once thought of as a cold, dark, and empty realm now appears to be
a rich collection of exotic and extreme objects. And these three planets may
be just the beginning of the discoveries.
“We are only just now uncovering what the very outer solar system might
look like and what might be out there,” said Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie
Institution for Science in Washington DC and a member of the team which
located The Goblin. “We believe there are thousands of dwarf planets in the
distant solar system. We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg right now.”
Doomsayers have been warning of Planet X (or Wormwood, or Planet Nine) for
years, however, most of their prophecies include a collision with Earth or a conspiracy to hide the planet’s existence from the public.
But it appears that the discovery of The Goblin has even scientists wondering
what else is out there beyond the far reaches of our solar
system. “Every small object we find that is isolated like this will
bring us closer to finding the planet,” said Scott
Sheppard. Sheppard also reported the finding in a notice distributed by
the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, according to The National Geographic.
The newly discovered small icy world is in an extremely elongated orbit.
At its closest, it gets about two and a half times as far from the sun as
Pluto and then it heads off to the outermost fringes of the solar system, to
almost 60 times further out than Pluto, taking an astounding 40,000 years to
loop once around the sun. For 99% of its orbit, it would be too faint to see,
according to a report by The Guardian.
Konstantin Batygin, assistant professor of planetary science at Caltech,
who has worked on theoretical simulations of the hypothetical Planet Nine,
described the latest observations as a “great discovery indeed.” He added,
“Despite centuries of surveys, our understanding of the solar system remains
incomplete,” he said. “This certainly adds to the growing ledger of … objects
that show Planet Nine’s influence.”
