Phaeton (hypothetical planet) Only in 1949 did the well-known Soviet astronomer Sergej Vladirimovich Orlov give it the name Phaeton... This name has become established." Theories regarding the formation of the asteroid belt from the destruction of a hypothetical fifth planet are today collectively referred to as the "disruption theory". This theory states that there was once a major planetary member of our solar system circulating in the present gap between Mars and Jupiter, which was variously destroyed when: Today, the Phaeton hypothesis has been superseded by the accretion model. Most astronomers today believe that the asteroids in the main belt are remnants of
Planet Nine cause the orbits of the other planets to precess, similar to but slower than the eTNOs, covering short arcs over the lifetime of the Solar System. These observations are consistent with the Planet Nine hypothesis but do not prove that Planet Nine exists as there are other potential explanations for the spin–orbit misalignment of the Solar System. Batygin was cautious in interpreting the results of the simulation developed for his and Brown's research article, saying, "Until Planet Nine is caught on camera it does not count as being real. All we have now is an echo." Brown put the odds