by Michael Sheridan DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER | February 15, 2011
Our solar system may soon consist of nine planets again.
Scientists say that lurking in the shadows of deep space, a gas giant is hiding beyond Pluto - which was demoted to a "dwarf planet" in 2006 - and orbiting our sun.
The claim, initially made 12 years ago, could get a big boost when data from the NASA space telescope, WISE (Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer), is released in April. At least, that's the hope of two astrophysicists - John Matese and Daniel Whitmire from theUniversity of Louisiana - who first proposed the planet's existence.
"If it does, John and I will be doing cartwheels," Whitmire told England's The Independent. "And that's not easy at our age."
The pair published a paper in the February edition of the scientific journal Icarus,
