[/floatl]AFP: Japanese scientists eye new planet
Scientists at a Japanese university said Thursday they believed another planet up to two-thirds the size of the Earth was orbiting in the far reaches of the solar system. The researchers at Kobe University in western Japan said that theoretical calculations using computer simulations led them to conclude it was only a matter of time before the mysterious "Planet X" was found. "The possibility is high that a yet unknown, planet-class celestial body, measuring 30 percent to 70 percent of the Earth's mass, exists in the outer edges of the solar system," Kobe University said in a statement. "If research is conducted on a wide scale, the planet is likely to be discovered in less than 10 years," it said. The research, led by Kobe University professor Tadashi Mukai along with researcher Patryk Lykawka, will be published in the April issue of the US-based Astronomical Journal. The study comes two years after school textbooks had to be rewritten when the Pluto was booted out of the list of planets...more...
