我们的太阳系本来有九大行星，后来冥王星被降级为矮行星，还剩下八大行星。一些人认为还存在一个未知的第九行星，科学家也一直在寻找，不过到现在还没有找到。
Is there a Planet Nine?
by Ryan F. Mandelbaum
I'm sorry, but Pluto sucks and I'm glad it's not a planet anymore. It's smaller than our Moon, and it's about the same size as several other distant, rocky solar system objects. Have you ever seen the way it orbits alongside its partner, Charon? Classifying it as a planet in the first place was a mistake. Can we get a better ninth planet, please?
Pluto /ˈpluːtəʊ/ n. 冥王星
suck /sʌk/ v. 不好（非正式用语）
distant /ˈdɪst(ə)nt/ adj. 遥远的
rocky /ˈrɒki/ adj. 岩石的（由rock加后缀-y变成形容词）
solar /ˈsəʊlə(r)/ adj. 太阳的（solar system就是太阳系）
object /ˈɒbdʒɪkt/ n. 物体
orbit /ˈɔːbɪt/ v. 环绕…旋转、公转
alongside /əˌlɒŋˈsaɪd/ prep. 跟…一起
partner /ˈpɑːtnə(r)/ n. 伙伴
classify /ˈklæsɪfaɪ/ v. 分类、归类（由class加后缀-ify变成动词）
in the first place 当初
Thankfully, astronomers have realized that the motions of the objects past the eighth planet, Neptune, imply the existence of the ninth planet we deserve. The theorized planet would be 10 times the mass of the Earth and take a long, eccentric orbit around the Sun.
thankfully /ˈθæŋkf(ə)li/ adv. 谢天谢地（由thank加后缀-ful变成形容词thankful，再加后缀-ly变成副词）
astronomer /əˈstrɒnəmə(r)/ n. 天文学家
motion /ˈməʊʃ(ə)n/ n. 运动、移动
Neptune /ˈneptjuːn/ n. 海王星
imply /ɪmˈplaɪ/ v. 暗示
existence /ɪɡˈzɪst(ə)ns/ n. 存在（由exist加后缀-ence变成名词）
theorize /ˈθɪəraɪz/ v. 理论化、形成理论（由theory加后缀-ize变成动词）
mass /mæs/ n. 质量、重量
eccentric /ɪkˈsentrɪk/ adj. 古怪的、异乎寻常的
orbit /ˈɔːbɪt/ n. （星体运行的）轨道
Just this week, scientists reported another strangely moving rock that bolsters the evidence for a ninth planet's existence.★ The new object, called 2015 BP519, takes an elliptical（椭圆形的） journey around the Sun spanning from 35 to 862 times the radius of Earth's own orbit.
strangely /ˈstreɪndʒli/ adv. 异常地、奇怪地（由strange加后缀-ly变成副词）
bolster /ˈbəʊlstə(r)/ v. 增强
evidence /ˈevɪd(ə)ns/ n. 证据
★ 这句话里的this week指文章发表的那一周，实际上是去年5月中旬
span /spæn/ v. 跨越
radius /ˈreɪdiəs/ n. 半径
While the eight known planets orbit the Sun on the same plane, like slot cars on concentric tracks, 2015 BP519 orbits at a 54-degree angle to that plane.
plane /pleɪn/ n. （几何）平面
slot car 一种可遥控的玩具汽车，只能在固定的滑轨上跑
concentric /kənˈsentrɪk/ adj. 同心圆的
track /træk/ n. 铁轨、轨道
angle /ˈæŋɡ(ə)l/ n. 角度
An international team of scientists from the Dark Energy Survey spotted the object and modeled its movement in a new paper published recently on the arXiv physics preprint server. It's the "most extreme Trans-Neptunian Object found to date," according to the paper.
spot /spɒt/ v. 看见
model /ˈmɒd(ə)l/ v. 建立模型、建模
movement /ˈmuːvmənt/ n. 移动（由move加后缀-ment变成名词）
paper /ˈpeɪpə(r)/ n. 论文
publish /ˈpʌblɪʃ/ v. 发表
preprint /ˈpriːprɪnt/ n. 预印刊物（指发表的论文未经同行评审）
extreme /ɪkˈstriːm/ adj. 极端的
Trans-Neptunian 指位于海王星之外的
to date 到目前为止
After modeling the object's orbit based on their observations, the team, led by University of Michigan graduate student Juliette Becker, realized that they needed something to explain why its orbit was so cockeyed（倾斜的）. If it was formed in the plane of the solar system, it's unlikely one of the known planets would have been able to provide the kick that knocked it askew. The researchers write that 2015 BP519's strange orbit is readily explained by a ninth planet dragging it along.
based on 基于
observation /ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 观测、观察（由observe加后缀-ation变成名词）
Michigan /ˈmɪʃɪɡən/ n. 密歇根州（美国北方的州）
graduate /ˈɡrædʒuət/ n. 大学毕业生（graduate student指研究生）
form /fɔːm/ v. 形成
askew /əˈskjuː/ adj. 歪的、斜的
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
readily /ˈred(ə)li/ adv. 轻而易举地
This is far from conclusive evidence. As Shannon Hall, who first reported on the paper, writes that other astronomers aren't as certain of this conclusion, since we don't quite know what things were like in the early solar system. Maybe there were other objects in the early solar system that could have given the initial kick.
conclusive /kənˈkluːsɪv/ adj. 结论性的
conclusion /kənˈkluːʒ(ə)n/ n. 结论
initial /ɪˈnɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 一开始的
You can bet that Planet Nine enthusiasts are very excited. So, is there really a Planet Nine? Unclear. But if there were, we'd finally get a worthy ninth planet, instead of a dud like Pluto.
enthusiast /ɪnˈθjuːziæst/ n. 狂热分子、发烧友
unclear /ʌnˈklɪə(r)/ adj. 不清楚的、不明确的（由clear加上表示否定的后缀un-）
worthy /ˈwɜːði/ adj. 值得的、有价值的（由worth加后缀-y变成形容词）
dud /dʌd/ n. 无用之物
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