Planet 9....

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,498
I think the name has to allude to the mysterious nature of this beast, that it could have eluded detection for so long.

Something like Yeti or Bigfoot. Planet Loch Ness.
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,257
And now, an update. Apparently, planet nine has an observable effect on the behavior of the entire solar system!:


"Because Planet Nine is so massive and has an orbit tilted compared to the other planets, the Solar System has no choice but to slowly twist out of alignment," said lead author Elizabeth Bailey in a statement.

The first paper, available online and submitted to the Astrophysical Journal, focuses on the angular momentum contribution of the potential planet on the spin of our star. Planet Nine is believed to arrive as close as 200 AU and as distant as 1,200 AU, with 1 AU (astronomical unit) being the Earth-Sun distance.

Having an object at least 10 times the mass of Earth, on such a wide orbit, and with an expected inclination of 30 degrees will generate a wobble in the Sun. And according to the calculations, it can explain the observed tilt.
 
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