Why the Planet X is such a late discovery?

The story of THIS Planet X (unfortunately, the discoverers keep using this name "Planet X" when they discover something new**) began with the Japanese in the 1990s.

Doing a statistical analysis on the orbits of "first-time comets" (deemed to fall into the solar sytem from the Oort cloud), Japanese astronomers concluded in the 1990s that there must be at least one (maybe two) fair-sized planet(s) in what we call the inner Oort cloud (now called the Hills cloud, beyong the Kuiper belt).

For them, the presence of this (or these) planet(s) would explain a predominance of certain types of orbits, as if this planet was disrupting the otherwise quiet orbits of Oort objects.

The study was repeated by American astronomers in the early 2000s, and they confirmed the Japanese conclusion.

However, no one ever saw this (or these) planet(s).

According to calculations, one could be of a size between that of Neptune and Earth (therefore, MUCH bigger than Pluto), and the other might be somewhere between Earth and Mercury in size (still much larger than Pluto).

At that distance, these planets (if they are true planets and not just overgrown comets, like Pluto) would be rather dark and still WAAAAAYYY beyond the reach of our telescopes.

(Pluto was detected because it's surface is almost pure white nitrogen "snow").

Keep in mind, also, that the distance from the Sun to Pluto is only 2% of the distance to the Oort Cloud.

Objects in the Oort cloud get 2500 times LESS sunlight than Pluto. And seen from Earth, they would appear another 2500 times dimmer.

That is a lot of "dimmer".

The Hubble Space telescope is "only" a 2.4 metre telescope. Sure, it got the advantage of being in space (no atmospheric distortion), but it only gathers as much light as any other 2.4 metre telescopes (some US colleges have bigger telescopes). Therefore, the Hubble would not be able to see them...

...if they exist (so far, they are only the product of statistical analyses).

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**This theoretical planet should NOT be confused with the fake "Planet X" used in the hoax of the end-or-the-world of May 2003 (and used again for the Big 2012 Hoax, combined with the fictitious planet Nibiru).

The fake "Planet X" of 2003 and 2012, does not exist.

They are calling it "Planet 9".

Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced Wednesday that they have found new evidence of a giant icy planet lurking in the darkness of our solar system far beyond the orbit of Pluto. They are calling it "Planet Nine."

they have inferred its existence from the motion of recently discovered dwarf planets and other small objects in the outer solar system. Those smaller bodies have orbits that appear to be influenced by the gravity of a hidden planet – a "massive perturber." The astronomers suggest it might have been flung into deep space long ago by the gravitational force of Jupiter or Saturn.

Telescopes on at least two continents are searching for the object, which on average is 20 times farther away than the eighth planet, Neptune. If "Planet Nine" exists, it's big. Its estimated mass would make it about two to four times the diameter of the Earth, distinguishing it as the fifth-largest planet after Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. But at such extreme distances, it would reflect so little sunlight that it could evade even the most powerful telescopes

Small, dark, cold, a tiny point of dimness with an approximate position. To point a telescope one has to know where to look.

The evidence is increasing for a modest body out in the Oort cloud.

We still have not seen it. Some people ASSUME it to exist, based on the orbits of comets.

If (big if) it does exist, it would be very cold, very dark, and very very far away, and we don't know exactly where.

We don't know if they've found anything yet. And, the possibility of many others exist as well.

Actually it should be Planet IX

Because it doesn't actually exist.

Its real hard to find an imaginary object.

Because it does not exist.