Researchers suggest that "at least two" planets lie beyond Pluto
Posted on 01/20/2015 8:54:04 AM PST by Red Badger
Paris (AFP) - The Solar System has at least two more planets waiting to be discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto, Spanish and British astronomers say.
The official list of planets in our star system runs to eight, with gas giant Neptune the outermost.
Beyond Neptune, Pluto was relegated to the status of "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, although it is still championed by some as the most distant planet from the Sun.
In a study published in the latest issue of the British journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers propose that "at least two" planets lie beyond Pluto.
Their calculations are based on the unusual orbital behaviour of very distant space rocks called extreme trans-Neptunian objects, or ETNOs.
In theory, ETNOs should be dispersed in a band some 150 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun.
An AU, a measurement of Solar System distance, is the span between Earth and the Sun -- nearly 150 million kilometres (almost 93 million miles).
ETNOs should also be more or less on the same orbital plane as the Solar System planets.
But observations of about a dozen ETNOs have suggested a quite different picture, the study says.
If correct, they imply that ETNOs are scattered much more widely, at between 150 and 525 AU, and with an orbital inclination of about 20 degrees.
To explain this anomaly, the study suggests some very large objects -- planets -- must be in the neighbourhood and their gravitational force is bossing the much smaller ETNOs around.
"This excess of objects with unexpected orbital parameters makes us believe that some invisible forces are altering the distribution" of the ETNOs, said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos of the Complutense University of Madrid.
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Researchers suggest that "at least two" planets lie beyond Pluto
Possible.Its a big place that is mostly dark.
FMCDH(BITS)
But I thought this science was settled?
Well according to one of the “buy it here now” nets, that would be the sun and the moon.
Hey...load the U-Haul, I’m outta here.
“Their calculations are based on the unusual orbital behaviour of very distant space rocks called extreme trans-Neptunian objects, or ETNOs.”
If they are indeed trans-Neptunian, it would be discriminatory to deny them the same planetary status afforded to cis-gendered planets. The stated ‘unusual behavior’ would also be fitting. (deliberately refraining from “Uranus” joke here)
Suggest at least one new planet be named after Rudolf Diesel.
Why? They are full of gas................
They were born that way...............
The SOBs are probably metric too.
It would also be discriminatory to deny the residents of the new planets "Diesel" and "Reggie Love" the benefits of Obamacare and to deny them protection against Global Warming.
in re refraining from “Uranus” joke ....
today's sensitive young FReepers are trained to say "YOOR-eniss," not "yoor-ANUS." which apparently can cause severe itching among the scientific end of the LGBT community.
This sort of thoughtful sensitivity is especially important now that we have an ETNO as POTUS.
The other has to be named after Al Sharpton, to avoid any claims of racism in naming planets.
What about Planet Claire?
And they are for sale!! Please contact me at your earliest convenience for a great deal.
“What about Planet Claire?”
That explains what happened to all those Plymouth Satellites.
.
Planet “X” stands for the tenth planet.
I think we actually have 57.
.
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