The computer model also predicted the location of other objects beyond Neptune, in a region known as the Kuiper Belt, and those were found in archived surveys as well.

At that point, "my jaw sort of hit the floor," Brown said in a statement.

Brown's earlier research helped to demote Pluto in 2006 as the solar system's ninth planet after other small, icy bodies were found beyond Neptune.

"All those people who are mad that Pluto is no longer a planet can be thrilled to know that there is a real planet out there still to be found," Brown said.