The 9th planet can cause great extinction on Earth

The ninth planet also hidden in the solar system could be the culprit causing terrifying extinctions, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs on Earth.

The 9th planet can cause meteor showers leading to great extinction on Earth.(Photo: janez volmajer)

According to Phys.org, the study is published in the January issue of the Royal Astronomical Society. Daniel Whitmire, retired astrophysicist and math lecturer at the University of Arkansas, USA, thinks that the ninth planet or planet X has not yet been found to cause meteor shower associated with major extinctions. 27 million years apart on Earth.

Although astronomical scholars have been searching for planet X for the past 100 years, the possibility of it really exists when researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently surmised its presence. based on abnormalities in celestial orbits in the Kuiper belt. This is a disc-shaped area consisting of comets and larger objects outside Hai Vuong Tinh. If the Caltech research group's conclusions are correct, planet X is 10 times more massive than Earth's mass and is 1,000 times more away from the Sun than Earth.

Whitmire and his colleague John Matese first published a study on the relationship between Planet X and the great extinctions in Nature in 1985 while taking on the position of astrophysicist at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. . Their work appeared in Time magazine in 1985.

At that time, three explanations were given to explain the meteor shower: planet X , the existence of the star like the Sun, and the vertical oscillation of the Sun as it revolved around the galaxy. The following two hypotheses are excluded because they are inconsistent with paleontological records. Planet X is the most reasonable hypothesis and is gaining attention.

According to Whitemire and Matese, when planet X orbits the Sun, its tilted orbit slowly rotates and every 27 million years, planet X passes through the comet belt , causing the comet to hit the rim of the Solar System. . Comets that pop out of their positions not only hit Earth but also disintegrate in the rim while they approach the Sun, reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth.

In 1885, paleontological record research supported the hypothesis that meteor shower rains took place 250 million years ago. More recent research found evidence that the event dates back 500 million years ago.

Whitmire and Matese published their own estimates of the size and trajectory of planet X in the original study. They believe it is 1 to 5 times larger than Earth's mass and 100 times more away from the Sun than Earth. The number they give is much smaller than Caltech's estimate.

Whitmire judged the possibility that a distant planet with an important influence on evolutionary life on Earth was really interesting. " I have been part of this story for 30 years. If there is a final answer, I will write a book about it ," Whitmire said.