Dr. R.S. Harrington: The Location of Planet X

Astronomical Journal
Volume 96, Number 4

THE LOCATION OF PLANET X

R.S. Harrington
U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, DC 20392
Received 17 May 1988; revised 12 July 1988

ABSTRACT

Dr. R.S. Harrington

Planet X, if it exists at all, is most likely to be found, at present, in the region of Scorpius, with a considerably lesser likelihood that it is in Taurus.

In 1930, Tombaugh found the planet Pluto. This was the result of a systematic search initiated at Lowell Observatory as the result of predictions made by Lowell as to the positions and nature of a supposed additional planet in our solar system. At the time, Pluto was hailed as the object of that prediction, even though there were anomalies in its appearance and orbit evident right from the time of its discovery. Since then, these problems have only become more serious, and the discovery of its satellite in 1978 revealed a mass of Pluto that could not have caused any of the perturbations in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune used to predict the existence of a ninth planet. For a complete review of the discovery of Pluto and the developments leading up to the suspicion of the existence of a tenth planet, see Seidelmann and Harrington (1988).

Could ‘Planet X’ Cause Comet Catastrophes on Earth?

This is an artist’s impression of a Kuiper belt object in orbit around the sun – could a massive planet also be out there?

As astronomers track down more clues as to the existence of a large world orbiting the sun in the outer fringes of the solar system, a classic planetary purveyor of doom has been resurrected as a possible trigger behind mass extinctions on Earth.

Yes, I’m talking about “Planet X.” And yes, there’s going to be hype.

Before we dive into comet impacts, extinctions and possible exciting planet discoveries, let’s look at the dramatic history of Planet X.

U of A Researcher Links Mass Extinctions to ‘Planet X’

Periodic mass extinctions on Earth, as indicated in the global fossil record, could be linked to a suspected ninth planet, according to research published by a faculty member of the University of Arkansas Department of Mathematical Sciences.

Daniel Whitmire, a retired professor of astrophysics now working as a math instructor, published findings in the January issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society that the as yet undiscovered “Planet X” triggers comet showers linked to mass extinctions on Earth at intervals of approximately 27 million years.

Ninth Planet May Exist Beyond Pluto, Scientists Report

There might be a ninth planet in the solar system after all, and it is not Pluto.

Two astronomers reported on Wednesday that they had compelling signs of something bigger and farther away — something that would satisfy the current definition of a planet, where Pluto falls short.

Two giant planets may cruise unseen beyond Pluto

The monsters are multiplying. Just months after astronomers announced hints of a giant “Planet X” lurking beyond Pluto, a team in Spain says there may actually be two supersized planets hiding in the outer reaches of our solar system.

New dwarf planet hints at giant world far beyond Pluto

A surprise monster may be lurking in our solar system. A newly discovered dwarf planet has grabbed the crown as the most distant known object in our solar system – and its orbit hints at a giant, unseen rocky world, 10 times the mass of Earth and orbiting far beyond Pluto.

Interview with Zecharia Sitchin (1996)

Antonio Huneeus, republished October 30, 2010

“I am bursting, people don’t realize how every day, every day we get corroboration of ancient knowledge…”

Sitchin next to his replica of the statue of Gudea taken during this interview. (image credit: Manuel Fernandez)

This interview was recorded in Sitchin’s home office in Manhattan’s Upper West Side on March 13, 1996. It was originally intended for the international Spanish magazine Año Cero (Year Zero), published in Madrid but distributed throughout Latin America as well. Later, a Japanese version was published in the now-defunct Tokyo magazine Borderland, and an edited version in the original English in Fate magazine in the U.S. However, this is the first time that the full, unedited transcript of the interview is presented, as a tribute to the great, late Zecharia Sitchin. Besides the range of highly interesting topics covered, it also shows Zecharia’s thought process and the way he dealt with difficult questions like predictions for the return of Nibiru.