IRAS- "Planet X" spotting in 1983?

[Daoloth]

What’s the Straight Dope on the allegations that the IRAS located a Jupiter sized celestial body within our solar system, previously unidentified, in 1983? Did scientists really herald this in as this kooky site claims?

Here is an alleged article from the Washington Post concerning it. If the article is legit, what was it that the IRAS found?

[bernse]

From the article:

The most fascinating explanation of this mystery body, which is so cold it casts no light and has never been seen by optical telescopes on Earth or in space, is that it is a giant gaseous planet as large as Jupiter and as close to Earth as 50 trillion miles.

What is 50 trillion miles? 8 Light years? That ain’t in our solar system, man.

[Scruloose]

The SDMB’s own Bad Astronomer talks quite a bit about planet X on his website. Check out the Planet X FAQ. I believe he even addresses the 1983 “discovery”.

[Scruloose]

Here’s an excerpt from Bad Astronomer’s Planet X FAQ:

Another favorite claim of Mark Hazlewood is that NASA found the tenth planet back in 1983, and even announced it. This is patently untrue. What really happened was that a satellite used to make astronomical observations in infrared light found several objects that were previously unidentified. During a press conference, the astronomers made a list of potential sources, including (but not limited to) a tenth planet. Of course, the headline in the Washington Post zeroed in on the planet possibility, but science is generally not done by headlines. Sure enough, follow-up observations made later showed clearly that most of the objects were distant galaxies, and another was a gas cloud in our own Galaxy. No planet.

[DarrenS]

Did anyone else hear Bad Astronomer put the smackdown on one of the Planet X conspiracy theorists last night, on “Coast to Coast” ? “She keeps saying this, but Hubble does not, has never and cannot provide a live feed - it’s literally impossible. I worked on Hubble for 10 years” - paraphrasing.

[The_Tooth]

I listened.

It was very entertaining. And while the seeing this week has been so-so, I spent last weekend behind my telescope checking out a few of the brighter things in the western sky. There was no mystery planet south of the sun.

Imagine that.