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Youngest Planet Discovered

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the just-a-two-thousand-year-old-baby dept.

qazsedcft writes "BBC is reporting that Astronomers have discovered what appears to be the youngest planet, being less than 2000 years old. If this proves to be true it could challenge our models of solar system formation."

25 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. I'm not that impressed by evolvearth · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's about a thousand year's shy of being middle aged. After all, the earth is approximately 6000 years old.

    1. Re:I'm not that impressed by Otter · · Score: 3, Funny
      I'd been thinking "For once, an astronomy story where we won't be subjected to a stream of 'But the earth is 6000 years old!' comments!"

      I underestimated you guys -- it'd be like anything Google-related not having ten "Steve Balmer through another chair!" posts.

      --
      What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
    2. Re:I'm not that impressed by Tesen · · Score: 5, Funny

      In a related story, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer threw multiple chairs after he heard of the newly discovered "young" planet. Steve was quoted as saying, "I bet freaking google has already tried to map the fucker! ".

    3. Re:I'm not that impressed by capnchicken · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's what Earth loves about these gaseous planetary clouds. Earth gets older, they stay the same age.

      --
      A libertarian shat on my carpet once. Claimed the free market would sort it out. -Ford Prefect(8777)
    4. Re:I'm not that impressed by QRDeNameland · · Score: 4, Funny

      All to test our faith.

      "Dinosaur fossils? God put those there to test our faith."

      "I think God put you here to test my faith, dude. You believe that?"

      "Uh huh."

      Does that trouble anyone here? The idea that God might be fuckin' with our heads? Anyone have trouble sleeping restfully with that thought in their heads? God's running around, burying fossils: "Huh huh ho. We will see who believes in me now, ha HA. I'm a prankster god. I am killing me. Ho ho ho ho."

      You know, you die, you go to St. Peter, "Did you you believe in dinosaurs?"

      "Well, you know, there was fossils everywhere."

      "What are you, an idiot? God was FUCKING with you! Giant flying lizards? You moron! That's one of God's easiest jokes!"

      "It seemed so plausible! Aieeeeeeeee!" Bound for the lake of fire. . . .

      ---quoth the prophet Bill Hicks

      --
      Momentarily, the need for the construction of new light will no longer exist.
    5. Re:I'm not that impressed by binpajama · · Score: 5, Funny

      Won't it be getting close to the Flood for those poor folks? Maybe we could bundle our tele-evangelists into a spaceship and send them there to spread salvation. The horrors of Earth must not be repeated elsewhere.

  2. Magratheans by JeepFanatic · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe it's just the Magrathean's hard at work? Are there any white holes nearby for the collection of raw materials?

    1. Re:Magratheans by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't you know, Adams was a prophet! That makes the grandparent insightful! Where's your faith man??? 42 is all you need to know.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  3. Won't somebody think of the children... by zappepcs · · Score: 5, Funny

    This astronomy child porn has to stop! Before you know it, these 'astronomers' will be cruising the galaxy trying to probe every new planet they find!

    --
    Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
    1. Re:Won't somebody think of the children... by pshumate · · Score: 5, Funny

      Great, now Chris Hansen's going to host "To Catch An Astronomer."

  4. From TFA... by SimonGhent · · Score: 5, Funny

    According to one model, planets form from the bottom up

    So that would be turtle first, then elephants, then the flat bit.

    Makes sense.

    (apologies for reading TFA, I'm new here)
    --
    simon
    1. Re:From TFA... by Speare · · Score: 3, Funny

      So that would be turtle first, then elephants, then the flat bit.

      No, it's turtles all the way down.

      --
      [ .sig file not found ]
  5. Re:Change our thinking? by InvisblePinkUnicorn · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Imagine - being able to even detect a plant"

    I'm always trying to do this, but I just end up stepping on them first.

  6. only 18 years old by whtmarker · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think Captain Planet is the youngest planet alive. source

  7. Re:Pass out the cigars... by sm62704 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Flowers, my ass! When you have a baby you're supposed to hand out cigars. Where's my cigar, dammit?

    In related news, they've discovered the smallest black hole yet with a mass of only 3.8 times the sun's mass, and a diameter of only 24 km (that's about fifteen miles).

    So is this black ho the baby planet's momma?

    --
    mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  8. Re:Pass out the cigars... by Chapter80 · · Score: 4, Funny

    When you have a baby you're supposed to hand out cigars.
    Not in my town. Cigars for a boy, donuts for a girl.

    Yeah, that's right, the ones with a hole in them...

  9. Re:Pass out the cigars... by Deadstick · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sometimes a planet is just a planet.

    rj

  10. Whippersnapper! by spike2131 · · Score: 2, Funny

    That planet better get off my lawn!

    <shakes-fist/>

    --
    SpyDock: Scientific Python in a Docker container
  11. Re:But who's the father? by jd · · Score: 2, Funny

    I asked Asterix. He heard something about it being By Jupiter.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  12. Re:Perhaps it won't wind up being a planet... by jd · · Score: 2, Funny
    Gas giant planets contain heavy elements which - if you try to fuse them - will take more heat than they release. I can't see how you'd ever reach either ignition or self-sustaining conditions. Now, there ARE gas supergiant planets that are larger than small stars. Some were accused of being mis-identified brown dwarfs*. I think this find makes it very likely supergiant planets do indeed exist.

    (Brown dwarfs are easy to mis-identify, unlike white dwarfs, which carry warhammer adverts.)

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  13. Re:Youngest Planet by Stanistani · · Score: 2, Funny

    Darn right. Everyone knows the Earth isn't young, it's flat.

    --
    You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
  14. Best part about young planets by mcmonkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    Every year you get older, they stay the same age.

  15. It says right there in TFA: by denzacar · · Score: 3, Funny
    From the TFA:

    Intriguingly, another young star in the same region called XZ Tau may have made a close pass of HL Tau about 1,600 years ago. Apparently, the pass XZ Tau made was more than just "close".
    He was last seen fleeing through the constellation of Taurus at the speed of light in order to avoid paying alimony.
    Apparently... HZ Tau is also already married.
    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  16. Re:Pass out the cigars... by severoon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Huh. If that black hole is the planet's mama, then we should definitely get that planet that one t-shirt that says I tore mommy a new one!

    --
    but have you considered the following argument: shut up.
  17. 75 Jupiter masses? by Corf · · Score: 2, Funny

    That seems like such an arbitrary unit of measurement.

    Let's go with SI units here, people. We are looking at no fewer than 1.6953x10^27 Volkswagen Beetles.

    --
    The pain was excruciating and the scarring is likely permanent, but that just means it's working.