The Search for Planet Nine | Masao Sako | TEDxPenn

Dr. Sako is currently hunting for the putative giant planet -- Planet Nine -- that might be lurking in the outskirts of our Solar System. Planet Nine, if real, could be as large as ten Earth masses, but will only appear as a faint little dot due to its vast distance from the Sun. Dr. Sako and students use supercomputers to sift through the many millions of detections and background stars, galaxy, and other minor bodies in the solar neighborhood. Its discovery and nature will teach us about the history and formation of our Solar System. Masao Sako is an astrophysicist using large telescopes, supercomputers, and big data to study the Universe. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards at the University of Pennsylvania, including the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Dean’s Award for Innovation in Teaching. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at