Planet Nine: Is the search for this elusive world nearly over?

An illustration showing the hypothetical Planet 9 with blue rings and a question mark over it, with stars and a galaxy in the background.

Deep in the outer reaches of the solar system — so far away from the known planets that the sun would barely be distinguishable from a nearby star — a massive, icy world may be lurking in the shadows, waiting to be discovered by humanity. 

And the day that we finally find this elusive planet may be coming soon, thanks to a state-of-the-art telescope that will begin scanning the sky next year.