Planet 9 not affecting Cassini

[Merc14]

NASA said late in the day on Friday (April 8, 2016) that the hypothetical object known as Planet 9 – which so far has not been discovered – is not affecting the Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn. Contrary to recent reports in the media, Cassini is not experiencing:

… unexplained deviations in its orbit around Saturn.

That’s a lot of “nots” but some people apparently need to hear them. According to recent reports online:

… a mysterious anomaly in Cassini’s orbit could potentially be explained by the gravitational tug of a theorized massive new planet in our solar system, lurking far beyond the orbit of Neptune.

But NASA says it’s just not true:

While the proposed planet’s existence may eventually be confirmed by other means, mission navigators have observed no unexplained deviations in the spacecraft’s orbit since its arrival there in 2004.

Article continues here:

http://earthsky.org/space/planet-9-not-affecting-cassini-at-saturn?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=1f53618006-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-1f53618006-394012957

Just stomping out any embers that may be glowing before they light up.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Merc14