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Analysis Suggests Solar System Contains Massive Trans-Neptunian Objects
BarbaraHudson writes NBC News reports that at least two planets larger than Earth likely lurk far beyond Pluto, just waiting to be discovered, a new analysis of the orbits of "extreme trans-Neptunian objects" (ETNOs) suggests. The potential undiscovered worlds would be more massive than Earth and would lie about 200 AU or more from the sun — so far away that they'd be very difficult, if not impossible, to spot with current instruments. "The exact number is uncertain, given that the data that we have is limited, but our calculations suggest that there are at least two planets, and probably more, within the confines of our solar system," lead author Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, of the Complutense University of Madrid, said. (Here's the longer version at Space.com.)
Hey guys, it is totally real now!
But really, it would be neat if there were more planets, especially rocky and super-rocky planets.
Future space for a hopefully future human race to propel in to sunny orbits.
Our ability to discern planetary positions has largely been based on our understanding of orbital dynamics and looking for protuberances in the motions of known, directly observed objects that were naked eye observable. This technique has been used since the 16th century and led to discoveries of all Planets, Planetoids, various Asteroids, Comets, and Plutoids ever since without the need of direct imaging; just some very cool math...
Thirty four characters live here.
Launch a probe and have it hang out in the calculated orbit and if it hits something, report back?
is 6. There are 6 planets orbiting Sol that humanity hasn't discovered. Honestly, we're kind of surprised you guys haven't blown each other up yet, what with your complete inability to leave your own gravity well even. That's considered child's play to the rest of the universe.
Beware! This heralds the return of the Great Old Ones! (Just in time for the U.S. 2016 election season it seems.)
Keep an eye out for Mi-Go.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Seriously though, if such a planet did exist and the had an orbit that brought it near our planet once every so many thousnads of years, what effect would it have as it passed near us? Look at the effect the moon has on our planet and think about something larger than Earth passing by.
I think Pluto got robbed.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
Analysis PROVES that Trans-Siberian Railroads You!
At that range, you have to wonder enough time has elapsed since the formation of the solar system for them to have "cleared the neighborhood" around their orbits.
I hope I'm alive long enough for somebody to build probes that are fast and powerful enough to reach and map these places.
The trouble with present technology, is that most rockets/spacecraft only have enough delta-V to take decades to get out there, and nowhere near enough to actually go into orbit when they get out there.
Hazarding a guess, I would say that that'll only happen when somebody gets around to building nuclear-powered engines. The big question is: who's got the money and balls to pull it off?
Alf already predicted this http://alf.wikia.com/wiki/Alvin
This would explain why SPACE: 1999 had the runaway Moon passing a planet outside the solar system in every episode. For all these years, I thought British SF TV was just weak in the science department.
You mean there is something up Uranus?
Table-ized A.I.
Trans Neptunian Express!
I wonder what the fastest possible chemically-propelled-rocket probe is? If the probe was made small and compact to do little more than take photos and spectrographic analysis, how fast could the bugger be made to travel using existing rocket tech?
If it records the pass-by data and sends it back later at a slower pace, somewhat like New Horizons, then it doesn't need that big of an antenna.
Table-ized A.I.
Ok so, protoplanetary clouds and discs are much larger than the solar system forming inside them? The solar system slowly erodes ever larger cavity inside the center of the cloud, never destroying it completely... We are still inside our protoplanetry cloud.
I wonder what they're going to call these new objects, because they'll probably find a reason not to call them planets just like they did for Pluto.
They're too big to be dwarf planets... Maybe elf planets?
Perhaps KP's, Kuiper Planets. Which could start a whole new Planetary naming system based on regional distance from a star instead of what we have now. Everything round + blah between the Star and it's local Kuiper Belt type region would be either an Inner Planet or Solar Planet, everything otherwise fitting that definition but within the Kuiper Belt would be a Kuiper Planet and anything further than that would be an Oort Planet.
That might even allow Pluto to be reclassified as a planet again, either a Solar Planet or Kuiper Planet. I really think this system, plus other basic details like roundness etc, could be a more useful system. It would also allow a way to keep the number of planets more manageable since we could mostly focus on the Inner/Solar Planet count for general public use without the number of them being too high to manage.
New Planet types based on Region/Distance from star:
Inner Planet or Solar Planet
Kuiper Planet
Oort Planet
btw: I made a post as anon under the same parent post before this, then thought I should log in and elaborate. The previous post was:
" They'll probably be called KP's. Kuiper Planets."
And are well understood.
Short on balls to use them, though.
..don't panic
They said back then that there is a massive "Planet X" that may orbit in the reverse direction from other planets.
We know now that the universe is full of orphan planets, so it would hardly surprise me if there are many such planets randomly drifting toward stars.
Perhaps KP's, Kuiper Planets. Which could start a whole new Planetary naming system based on regional distance from a star instead of what we have now. Everything round + blah between the Star and it's local Kuiper Belt type region would be either an Inner Planet or Solar Planet, everything otherwise fitting that definition but within the Kuiper Belt would be a Kuiper Planet and anything further than that would be an Oort Planet.
That might even allow Pluto to be reclassified as a planet again, either a Solar Planet or Kuiper Planet. I really think this system, plus other basic details like roundness etc, could be a more useful system. It would also allow a way to keep the number of planets more manageable since we could mostly focus on the Inner/Solar Planet count for general public use without the number of them being too high to manage.
New Planet types based on Region/Distance from star:
Inner Planet or Solar Planet
Kuiper Planet
Oort Planet
btw: I made a post as anon under the same parent post before this, then thought I should log in and elaborate. The previous post was:
" They'll probably be called KP's. Kuiper Planets."
It could be simplified even further yet while still retaining the benefit of greater number manageability for the public, which seems to be a concern for those making the definitions, while also giving actual useful information about the planet in its Type name.
Define a Planetary Region around a star, that would apply to all stars (actual distance per star could vary depending on Factors), in which Planetary objects would be called "Inner Planets" and one more region beyond it in distance where such same type objects would be called "Outer Planets". The Type Name of the Planets would instantly give anyone information about its position relative to its star, which is perhaps more important than telling us it's size "Dwarf". This would solve the old problem of non-Sol Planets not technically being "Planets" while also giving the public a common class of Planets to focus on and more easily remember while still being able to address all the other planets if needed.
Inner Planets
Outer Planets
They can spot planet orbiting stars lightyears away, but not big-ass planets in our own neighborhood. Why is that?
Mod the parent up, the original poster got it pretty much completely wrong.
I see potential for a couple of movies, or a tv series. So far most of the stories have either limited to the solar system, or gone to the stars. The happy medium range is now imaginable.
If he does not fix the Elite: Dangerous inter-system travel by adding jumps between stars or between objects distant > 5000ls I will not visit those stations.
Rest of Milky Way actually found to orbit Sun. Center of galaxy reclassified BETNO (Brobdingnagian Extremely Trans Neptunian Object).
.
Alien mother ship, hiding behind the sun. Nephilim illuminati rebel scum are insinuating themselves via pseudoscience into astrological extra planetary debate to influence NASA climate change science deniers so as to elect mitt romney the dark lord of the freemason teapartiers.
www.sohbetodalarim.net
Arent we talking about dark matter?
Can anyone say Wormwood?
If they're out there, they are cold and dark, and really really far away. As long as they stay there, it makes no difference to us.