Column: Pluto is dead — but have these scientists discovered a new ninth planet?

In a couple of weeks, Caltech astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin will be staying up late over six autumn nights, scanning part of the sky via the great Subaru telescope in Hawaii. They’ll be looking for something their data tell them is there, but which they have to see with their own eyes: a newfound ninth planet in the solar system they’re calling Planet Nine. And, how’s this for synchronicity? Brown is the man whose research wound up demoting Pluto, which is actually smaller than Australia, down to a dwarf planet – yes, he killed off Planet Pluto.

Find the full archive of "Patt Morrison Asks" podcasts here or search for "Patt Morrison Asks" on iTunes.

To read this week’s column, click here.

Want unlimited digital access to the L.A. Times? Patt Morrison listeners can sign up here for eight free weeks.

MORE PATT MORRISON ASKS

How many people does it take to overpopulate Earth?

Why are Julian Assange and Vladimir Putin helping Donald Trump?

Science fiction master Ursula K. Le Guin talks Comic-Con and the psychological power of imagination

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook