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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."

6 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. "Challenge our models"? by gardyloo · · Score: 4, Interesting
    From the submission on slashdot:

    If this proves to be true it could challenge our models of solar system formation. In the article it states that the [computer] models seem to be such a good fit to what they're seeing, that it "may actually be what happens in nature" [my paraphrase]. OK, fine. How is this any different that what's been thought for the last 30 years? Disk of swirling stuff: check. Some small inhomogeneities which get gravitationally amplified: check. Perturbing, passing massive things: check. What challenge?
  2. Perhaps it won't wind up being a planet... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 4, Interesting
    From TFA (emphasis mine):

    But there is an intriguing suggestion that the gas giant, which is some 14 times the size of our Jupiter, could be even younger.

    And this celestial body is still in the process of formation. It's possible that it will pick up enough extra mass to push it over the approximately 75 Jupiter-masses threshold and initiate fusion, becoming a star in its own right. We may be witnessing the birth of a binary star system.
    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  3. Re:Won't somebody think of the children... by AioKits · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Great, now Chris Hansen's going to host "To Catch An Astronomer." Shouldn't be too hard. Just look for telescopes. If you want the 'big' offenders, look for the bigger telescopes!
    --
    "Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
  4. Re:I'm not that impressed by Rycross · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I kinda figure that if God has enough of a sense of humor to prank us by burying dinosaur fossils, he's probably not going to be that uptight about the requirements for getting into heaven.

    Well, that is if I believed in biblical literalism. Or God.

  5. Re:I'm not that impressed by arminw · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ....But the earth is 6000 years old!' comments!".....

    If a planet can form out there somewhere in only 2000 or less years, might it then not be possible to get one done in three times as long?

    --
    All theory is gray
  6. Re:I'm not that impressed by JeanPaulBob · · Score: 3, Interesting

    FYI... I grew up in creationist circles, seeing creationist videos, reading websites, etc. I've never actually encountered anyone who thought that fossils are fakes.

    You might find such people in the back hills somewhere...But that kind of thing has nothing to do with the kind of creationism you're likely to encounter.