Planet X,’ The Mysterious Planet Beyond Pluto, Is Nowhere To Be Found In NASA’s WISE Survey

Those hoping to replace Pluto with a new planet may be disappointed with news about the hypothetical “Planet X.” The gas giant looming in the outer reaches of our solar system was nowhere to be found as NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer observed millions of objects but no sign of Planet X.

According to NASA, new analysis of the WISE data didn't turn up any evidence of Planet X. The research, published in the Astrophysical Journal, was unable to observe a Saturn-size planet, or larger, 10,000 astronomical units away and no Jupiter-size planet, or larger, 26,000 au. An astronomical unit is the distance between the earth and the sun, 93 million miles.
Planet X, or Tyche, is a hypothetical gas giant, up to four times larger than Jupiter, that could be found in the Oort Cloud and affecting the orbits of comets. Two University of Louisana at Lafayette physics professors, John Matese and Daniel Whitmire, are credited as the researchers behind the theoretical planet. When news of their research began getting plenty of mainstream attention in 2011, it was met with plenty of doubt.read more