Could There Be a Planet Hidden on the Opposite Side of our Sun?

Behind the sun? This article is tempting me to use a lot of profanity. We travel to the other side of the sun and back every year, what does behind the sun mean? Behind the sun with respect to earth? So like where the Earth would be half a year from now? Or on a different axis or what? All logic tells me is the sun doesn't have a front and behind... its pretty spherical and it rotates. Was this a search for a planet that maintains the exact orbit of earth but 180 degrees out of phase? Can someone please clarify how the sun could have "sides" and where "the other side of the sun" is?

I'm guessing that what they mean is it revolves at the same speed as the earth but stays on the exact opposite side of the sun. Therefore, it is perpetually out of normal sight for earth. But, that's just how I read and understood it. you're right they didn't do a very good job of clarifying...

The first think in my mind when i read topic was.. the chances of having a planet moving at exact same speed as us on opposite side of the sun where we would never see it, Moving same speed same axis, etc. seems like an impossibility. There is better odds of winning the lottery..

Yea this article seems to be a bit on the goofy side to me. :) But hey, i guess you never know!!

One thing people need to realize about PopSci is that these are not scientific articles. It's similar to, say, a CNN reporter writing an article on a scientific discovery; these are written by journalists, not scientists.

That having been said, this article does seem kind of pointless... Why bother debunking a theory about a hidden planet synchronized with earth's orbit, when nobody thinks that anyhow? You may as well write an article to show that the earth isn't flat.

Lighten up. I bash PS pretty regularly, but this was not a bad article.

Yes, behind the sun -- referenced to the way it's positioned vs our beloved Earth. Not many of us will ever see it from any other coordinates.

As for why. The hidden planet has been speculated about through the ages. Probably mainly in fiction, but it has been discussed. Now we have reasonably solid evidence that no such planet exists. It's worth a few paragraphs.

Behind the sun simply means in an antipodal orbit to our own. This is from a few Old Old theorems that had no real scientific basis, but have had a long and popular life in some circles.

The use the term "other side of the sun" because very few people know what the term Antipodal means.

Hey can i write for pospci too? i got this great idea for an artical about the earth being round and not flat!!!

Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to go "behind the Sun". It looked for such an antipodal planet and found none. A couple of movies based on a speculated counter-Earth are "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" (1969) and "The Stranger" (1973).

Thanks for clearing that up lol

There is no planet X and we already figure this out with nasa's probs. Kinda a waste of time with this article... but i guess if there was,This article would have been more intresting.

As it happens - if you do not wash your hands - the sensor would track you. If you can't write a worthwhile comment, why write one at all ? My brother invented HyGreen and I am very proud of him. He's done more to save lives then any of you big mouths. So in my case Big Brother is watching whether I wash my hands.

I just heard this sky-is-falling fear theory of a planet hiding behind the sun. I must be slow to hear these things, but now I have. I am astounded at the amount of people on our planet who buy into these concepts. If a planet was Antipodal all these years, how would it suddenly speed up and show itself from behind the sun? I'm still waiting for the planets to align and pull the earth from it's orbit. Oh yeah, it didn't happen. And, the end of the world a couple of months ago. Still waiting for that one too. Just facts and science please, the truth is stunning enough! the truth is there are giant plates that rub against each other on our planet and nuclear plants should not be built on the ocean next to these plates. Isn't anyone in Japan's Nuclear dept. smarter than a 5th grader.. Now, that's something to worry about. Oh, it happened!!

well i guess we dont have to worry bout stuperman either.

I am quite amazed at how many people joke about the concept of there being a planet behind the sun. I too heard about this planet and decided to take a photograph of the sun with a small digital camera, and the images were eye-opening.

There is definitely a planet behind the sun, together with a satellite planet and I have the images to prove it. I have been taking images of the sun for +- 3 years, and find it amazing that there is no media coverage of this.

Click on the link below to view some of the images that I have taken. Evidence speaks volumes.

http://planetbehindthesun.blogspot.com/