Strong evidences claim mysterious Mars-like 'Planet 10' lurking at the edge of solar system

New Delhi : Strong evidences have been found which claim that our solar system is not limited to nine planets, instead a mysterious, unseen 'Planet 10' may be lurking in the outer reaches of our solar system.

Scientists have learned that a Mars-like object could be orbitting our Sun. A team of researchers, including Renu Malhotra of the University of Arizona in the US, found strong evidences hinting at a yet-to-be-discovered planetary body with a mass somewhere between that of Mars and Earth.

"The most likely explanation for our results is that there is some unseen mass," said Kat Volk, a postdoctoral fellow at University of Arizona. 

"According to our calculations, something as massive as Mars would be needed to cause the warp that we measured," said Volk, lead author of the study published in the Astronomical Journal.

The mass of 'Planet 10' is expected to be much more than the Mars and Earth, with a positive possibility of even more planets orbitting the Sun.

The planet has most likely not been found yet because we have not searched the entire sky for distant solar system objects, researchers said.

"The chance that we have not found such an object of the right brightness and distance simply because of the limitations of the surveys is estimated to be to about 30 per cent," Volk said.