Planet Nine Might Be a Giant Illusion, Scientists Say, And Here's Why
15 FEBRUARY 2021
A hypothetical mystery planet thought to be responsible for strange orbits in the outer Solar System just got dealt one of its biggest blows yet.
According to a comprehensive analysis of extremely distant objects, led by physicist Kevin Napier of the University of Michigan, Planet Nine may not exist - because the evidence for its existence doesn't exist. Rather, what astronomers took to be the influence of a planet's gravity is instead selection bias in the observations.
The pre-print paper has been uploaded to arXiv, and awaits peer review.