No: Planet Nine has not been confirmed. A 2025 study identified one promising candidate match by comparing archival infrared observations from the IRAS and AKARI sky surveys, but those detections do not establish the object’s orbit or prove it is a planet. The finding is a reason for follow-up, not a discovery announcement.
What did the researchers find?
Terry Long Phan and coauthors searched the all-sky far-infrared data collected by IRAS and AKARI, whose observation epochs are separated by 23 years. A distant object should appear to shift slowly against the background sky over that interval. The long gap therefore offered a way to look for moving objects that might otherwise be difficult to distinguish from stationary sources.
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The team applied positional and brightness-selection criteria, then examined pairs of detections with angular separations corresponding, under the search setup, to heliocentric distances of 500–700 astronomical units (AU) and masses of 7–17 Earth masses. Those ranges describe the search assumptions; they are not a measured distance or mass for a confirmed object. Thirteen pairs passed the selection criteria, and inspection of the images left one good candidate.
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The study, “A Search for Planet Nine with IRAS and AKARI Data,” was submitted on 24 April 2025 and accepted by Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia as PASA 42 (2025), e064. Read the paper on arXiv.
Why isn’t this a confirmed planet?
Two positions separated by decades can suggest motion, but they do not provide enough information to reconstruct a full orbit and show that the source is a bound, planetary object. As Phan and coauthors put it, “AKARI and IRAS detections are not enough to determine the full orbit of this candidate.” They say follow-up observations are needed to establish its Keplerian motion.
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A further observation would test whether the source appears where its predicted motion says it should. Repeated positions over time could then help determine an orbit. Until that evidence exists, the candidate cannot be treated as a confirmed planet or as proof that the hypothetical Planet Nine exists.
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A planet can be sought through reflected sunlight or its own heat. For reflected light, sunlight must travel out to the distant object and the reflected light must travel back to us. Thermal emission from the object makes only the one-way trip to an observer, which is why infrared surveys can be useful when looking for a cold, remote body.
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The search is difficult even with infrared data: Planet Nine’s predicted orbital parameters are uncertain, so its location is not known precisely. The survey comparison was one way to search for a slow-moving source across a wide area, but a candidate still needs observations capable of confirming its continuing motion.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What would happen next?
The report identifies the wide-field DECam camera on Chile’s Victor M. Blanco Telescope as a possible tool for follow-up. That is a proposed next step, not evidence that the candidate has already been observed again. The decisive advance would be additional detections consistent with the candidate’s motion, followed by an orbital solution that supports the claim.
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How strong is the evidence?
| Evidence so far | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| One candidate pair among 13 selected pairs, after image inspection of IRAS and AKARI data | A plausible match across archival survey observations; not confirmation of a planet |
| 47.5-arcminute apparent shift reported over the 23-year survey interval | A positional difference consistent with the search for a distant moving object; not a complete orbit |
| Search ranges of 500–700 AU and 7–17 Earth masses | The ranges associated with the study’s angular-separation selection, not measured properties of a confirmed body |
| No full orbital solution from the two survey detections | Further observations are needed before the candidate’s motion and planetary status can be established |
The cautious reading is straightforward: the study has surfaced a candidate worth checking, while the central question—whether it is a planet on the predicted kind of orbit—remains open.
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