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Science. Astronomy.
The Missing Fifth Planet.
Could the Hypothetical Ninth Planet Be the Ejected Fifth?
I recently stumbled upon a fascinating idea about a missing planet in our Solar System. If you’re familiar with this theory or have thoughts, please share—I’d love to learn more!
When we examine the Solar System, the gap between Saturn and Uranus stands out. It’s unusually large compared to the average spacing of other planets’ orbits. This configuration has been stable for billions of years, but how did such a gap form? Could it have once been occupied by a missing planet?
In the Solar System’s early days, the Sun was still a protostar, cooler and smaller in volume. At this stage, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn were much closer to the Sun than they are today. As the Sun grew larger and hotter, it ignited nuclear fusion, transforming into a main-sequence star. This phase, known as the T Tauri stage, produced intense solar winds and shock waves that cleared out remaining gas and dust, pushing the gas giants outward.
This process, known as planetary migration, is widely accepted and supported by the Nice Model. However, this migration was chaotic. The gravitational tug-of-war between planets, combined with the Sun’s growing influence, led to instability. We see evidence…
