"Its huge orbit would mean it takes between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make a single pass around the sun." by Ryan Morrison via Daily Mail A mysterious, small and cold object seen 20 billion miles from Earth by astronomers in 1983 may have been the elusive Planet Nine, according to a new report. Astronomers have speculated over the existence of a hidden planet in the outer reaches of the solar system for decades, gaining renewed interest in 2016 when new evidence came to light, but nothing has ever been directly observed. Michael Rowan-Robinson, from Imperial College London, turned to the archives in the hope of finding a 'blip' in old data that could point to its existence. He analysed data collected by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983, finding three potential sources that might just be 'Planet Nine'. While Rowan-Robinson admits that the probability of the object being Planet Nine is 'not overwhelming', he claims it 'would be worthwhile to check.' Astronomers Mike