New Earth Orbiting the Sun

Share to Google Classroom

Did you know there might be a hidden planet in our solar system? We usually count eight planets, starting from the closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But some scientists believe there could be a ninth planet, sometimes called Planet Nine.

This mystery planet might be orbiting the Sun far beyond Neptune, in a place called the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a zone filled with icy objects.

Astronomers in Japan, along with the country’s National Astronomical Observatory, have been studying how things in the Kuiper Belt move. They noticed something interesting. The behaviour of some objects there suggests there might be a big planet hiding in the Kuiper Belt.

This new planet could be about three times bigger than Earth, but it’s incredibly cold, so it wouldn’t support life as we know it.

The discovery of a possible planet near the Kuiper Belt is exciting because it could mean there are more planets yet to be found in our solar system.

A long time ago, Pluto used to be considered the ninth planet, but in 2006, scientists decided to call it a dwarf planet because it’s much smaller than the other eight.

1
A special group of experts is meeting this week to...
1
Humpback whale calves have been spotted much farther south than...
1
A Yorkshire terrier named Lulu may soon become the world’s...
1
A robot named Revenger has just broken the world record...
1
New Zealand cyclist Dion Smith had an unexpected run-in during...

World & National News

1
A giant dinosaur sculpture in Taupō, New Zealand, has sparked...
1
Heavy rain has caused serious flooding along parts of Australia’s...
1
A team of researchers has discovered a massive 30-year-old fungus...
1
A bronze statue of Melania Trump, the former First Lady...
1
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern delivered the...