Hi, I’m Jim Green, Director of Planetary
Science at NASA.
NASA works with the international science
community to explore our solar system and
beyond.
We look to unravel the mysteries that intrigue
us all as we explore and answer big questions,
like:
How did Earth originate and change over time,
and how did the solar system begin and evolve,
and what will be its destiny.
What will be our destiny?
Last July 14th, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft
flew past Pluto, capping a half century of
exploration of our solar system.
It piqued our interest about what lies beyond
Pluto, and what can we learn about the origins
of the solar system.
The idea of a new planet is certainly an exciting
one for me as a planetary scientist and I
think for all of us.
The January 20th paper in the Astronomical
Journal is fueling our interest in planetary
exploration and stimulating a healthy debate
that’s part of the scientific process.
I couldn’t be more please about what’s
happening.
It’s the start of a process that could lead
to an exciting result.
It is not, however, the detection of a new
planet.
It’s too early to say with certainty there’s
a so-called Planet X out there.
What we’re seeing is an early prediction
based on modeling from limited observations.
What’s exciting is that, like NASA’s journey
to Mars or New Horizons’ flyby of Pluto,
you will have a front row seat to see how
the scientific process unfolds.
Theories like this serve to stimulate ideas
and conversation.
They tap into our innate curiosity.
It’s important for us to continue the work,
and we will.
Anytime we have an interesting idea like this,
we always apply Carl Sagan’s rules for critical
thinking, which include independent confirmation
of the facts, looking for alternate explanations,
and encouraging scientific debate.
If Planet X is out there, we’ll find it
together.
Or we’ll determine an alternate explanation
for the data that we’ve received so far.
Now let’s go explore.
