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lemmy.world

maybe - but the IAU's definition for a planet indicates that body must clear its orbital path of debris (excepting any natural satellites or or those otherwise under its gravitational influence) - and that immediately rules out any trans-Neptunian objects. possibly there is something between the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud but our tech is not good enough to detect such a contender for planet as yet.

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The hypothetical "planet 9" that astronomers have been actively searching for during the past several years is expected to orbit somewhere between the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud — and we absolutely do have the technology to detect it, it's just painstaking work that takes a lot of telescope time (which is in short supply since lots of astronomers are all competing for it) and is difficult to automate.

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There could still be a ninth planet in our solar system. Here's why | Spyke