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Planet Nine
Interesting thought. A recent theory as to why the solar system is twisting out of alignment is the hypothetical introduction of a ninth planet, which I will here by refer to as JD, or John Doe. A recent study by CalTech University theorizes that there is a Ninth planet (JD) causing a large misalignment between Sol and her planets. You can find articles from the Washington Post, the LA Times, NBCNews and CalTech itself.
It is an interesting theory that has recently come up (albeit I found it through... science, not accident.) and I find it more than a little exciting. It would mean that there are nine planets and that JD would become a newly discovered celestial body in the Sol system! It might prove to be one of the greatest astrological discoveries of this century thus far if it proves correct! I for one hope that their theory does pan out. It'd be great for the people working on the project and maybe get more than a few kids interested in astronomy and space again. They're still attempting to find trace evidence for this theory and are busy trying to accrue data regarding such. What are your thoughts on this? Comments? Concerns? Is it malarkey? What do you think JD will be designated if it is indeed real? What would it be like geologically do you think? |
I'm going to agree with you that its really a interesting theory but i might add that in the past there have been claims for an extra “Planet X” (now planet IX, or the more familiar Planet Nine, due to Pluto’s demotion). But none of them have fully held up so far.
When further irregularities in the orbit of Uranus were first noticed in 1906 it sparked a search for a Planet X that was thought to be massive. Eventually, however, the less-massive Pluto was found instead by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. In the 1980 Planet X was proposed by Robert S Harrington based on the irregular orbits of Neptune and Uranus. This was later disproved by Myles Standish, who was able to explain the irregularities by revising the mass for Neptune using data from the Voyager flyby. but compared to above Planet Nine has more supporting evidence. I think this is partly because effects have been seen in the orbits of the six Kuiper belt objects rather than just one or two, which makes the theory seem potentially plausible. About geologically it'll be big XD I hope it became real in future. c; Now about that name what about "Desisses" |
The proposed existence of Planet 9 is certainly interesting. Not only could it explain orbital irregularities in Kuiper belt objects, but it could also explain the tilt of the plane of the ecliptic relative to the Sun, which has always been a curiosity. Mike Brown of Caltech predicts that if Planet 9 exists it may be discovered in as little as one year’s time.
If it does exist I think it is likely to be a captured object. Its proposed mass and radius suggest that it’s likely to be similar in composition to Uranus – a rocky core and an icy mantle within a gaseous envelope. As for what we should name it? I say “Bob.” |
I expect if this planet exists it would have to be pretty light. The further from the sun, the weaker the gravitational pull on an object. My guess would be something more like Pluto than Uranus - something relatively small.
I wonder if it's possible for a concentration of small Kuiper belt objects to have enough mass to account for all the things we're now suspecting might be a planet instead. What I mean is, if there is an uneven distribution in the belt, the side with more mass might act like a single larger object for the purposes of its gravitational effect. But I'm not educated enough in the science here to know if that's possible. Quote:
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A lot of people talk about this hypothetical planet being very similar to Uranus (or sometimes neptune) but it seems more likely to me it'd be made of rock or ice since it would most likely be located in the Kuiper belt which is composed entirely of rocky and icy bodies.
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The idea of a cluster of Kuiper belt objects is an interesting one! I think part of the evidence for Planet 9's existence is the irregular orbits of certain Kuiper belt objects, which would suggest a force external to the belt itself, but this is good thinking! Who knows! Quote:
The probability that we would find a super-massive rocky planet without a significant atmosphere or ocean of volatiles is slim. Planets of only about twice Earth's mass can begin to collect thick gaseous envelopes. Still, it will be very interesting to learn about the composition of Planet 9, if it exists, since it will tell us a lot about whether it formed within our solar system or was captured from interstellar space. |
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Before there was the Planet Nine hypothesis, people already thought that there was something beyond the Kuiper Belt. The only reason why people think it's a planet is because some scientist put a planet in a simulation and it made the Kuiper Belt objects with highly elliptical orbits match what it looks like right now.
However, if this object does tilt the sun by six degrees, then there is a possibility that it isn't a planet at all, but rather a brown dwarf, which was the original hypotheses before Planet Nine theory got more popular. This means that this is an object bigger than Jupiter, and would be hot and gassy. At the moment though, there's no way to know because the object is pretty far away from the sun that it doesn't quite reflect much sunlight. Not only that, due to the distance, there's a whole lot of space to scan through, where we look not for a planet, but a tiny black dot that covers up some of the lights from outer space. I'm not sure if it's gonna be discovered next year. Quote:
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This reminds me of Nemesis. |
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Another mistaken belief is that the Supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy is drawing in the stars around it. This isn't true either. Everything that the black hole had sucked in, had been sucked in. Everything else is just falling towards it but missing, including our own solar system. |
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You're so right though, scale in space is absolutely mind-boggling and hard to comprehend. |
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