They’ve just discovered Planet Nine. But is it really so ‘planety’? | Peter Bradshaw
by Peter Bradshaw from on (#11GYP)
The new discovery may be 10 times the size of our Earth, but surely our own home is still the most planety thing in the solar system. Let's not put ourselves down
When great discoveries are made about the universe, journalists always hope scientific experts will use language everyone can understand. A new, ninth planet in the solar system has been discovered: it's 10 times the size of Earth and takes between 10,000 and 20,000 years to orbit the sun - and astronomers at the California Institute of Technology have startled the world by announcing that it is "the most planety planet of the solar system".
Whoa! Bold statement, guys. It reminds me of when, in my second year at university, I experimented with smoking a joint, and rashly claimed to be looking at "the most door-handley door handle ever".
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