Ninth Planet Possibly Discovered - Fans Say Name Should Honor 'Starman' David Bowie

Scientists may have discovered a ninth planet in our Solar System, and no, it's not Pluto getting its old classification back. Astronomers say another world around the same size as Neptune might lie beyond the famous dwarf planet and while it's still not even confirmed, fans are calling for its name to honor recently passed rock star David Bowie, the "Starman" forever connected to space.

According to Science Magazine, California Institute of Technology planetary scientists Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin recently pushed forward a notion of something they've been working for a while: they claim there is in fact a ninth full-fledged Planet X in our solar system that's almost the size of Neptune. According to them, this giant world was knocked out of its place near the sun billions of years ago and ended up settling in a distant orbit, far beyond the Kuiper belt.

Interestingly enough, Brown is best known for removing planets than he is for discovering them. Back in 2005, he was the guy who discovered Eris, a planet about the size of Pluto that prompted the discussion that led to its demotion to dwarf planet, as it was discovered that Pluto was just one in the many worlds around the Kuiper belt.

Brown takes his role in good humor, and uses the Twitter handle @PlutoKiller.

While the existence of this planet won't be officially confirmed until it can be seen through a telescope (which could take years, considering the distance and placement), fans are already calling for it to be named after the "Space Oddity" himself, Mr. David Bowie.

The Independent recently spoke to Piero Benvenuti, the general secretary of the institution that has been naming celestial bodies for almost a century, the International Astronomical Union, about the possibility of turning the rock star into an actual planet. Ziggy Stardust's chances don't look very good, unfortunately.

"There would be some kind of vote," Benvenuti said, speaking about how the name would be chosen if the planet did exist. "The intention would be to have a coherent set of names."

Considering all planets so far have Greek/Roman connotations, it seems more than unlikely that Bowie will have his name in the stars. Still, Bowie's music has played in the skies: years back, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield sang "Space Oddity" on the International Space Station in a clip that's gotten over 30 million views since.