Planet Nine could be found by the end of the YEAR: Dark Energy Survey data is being used to identify the mysterious object 'tugging' on Nasa's Cassini

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Planet Nine could be found by the end of the YEAR: Dark Energy Survey data is being used to identify the mysterious object 'tugging' on Nasa's Cassini
US astronomers said in January they may have found a ninth planet 
Now researchers all over the world are trying to track it down
Gravitational 'tug' on Nasa's Cassini orbiting Saturn is being used
By luck, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) could also help find the planet
By ABIGAIL BEALL FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 05:20 EST, 7 April 2016 | UPDATED: 09:32 EST, 7 April 2016

At the start of this year, a team of US researchers predicted the existence of a mysterious ninth planet.

The unknown world, dubbed 'Planet Nine', is thought to be 10 times more massive than Earth and the furthest planet from the sun - but its exact location is unknown.

Since then, researchers over the world have been using different instruments to hone in on the planet, in an effort that could lead to the planet being found before the end of the year.

Not only could it be 'tugging' on Nasa's Cassini probe, a separate project called the Dark Energy Survey is coincidentally looking in exactly the right place to find the planet. 


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This artist's concept illustration shows a distant view from Planet Nine back towards the sun. Based on mathematical modelling, French scientists calculated what influence a ninth planet travelling along the orbit postulated by the US researchers would have on the movement of other planets as it passed nearby

Since the mysterious planet was predicted in January this year, data from Nasa's Cassini spacecraft has helped narrow down the search.