Finding Pluto’s Potential Replacement with a Giant New Telescope

Pluto was unseated as our solar system’s ninth planet in 2006. Since then astronomers have found signs that a real ninth planet could be hiding at the edges of our solar system. Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics, explains how the forthcoming Vera Rubin Observatory could give researchers a way to find the real Planet Nine—if it’s out there. Recommended reading: – We May Be on the Brink of Finding the Real Planet Nine – How to Move the World’s Largest Camera from a California Lab to an Andes Mountaintop E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics. Our show is edited by Madison Goldberg with fact-checking by Emily Makowski, Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices