Essentially from the origination
of comets we can discern a statistical anomaly that supports the plausibility
of a distant large gas planet capable of been the distant comet engine. If true and valid, it should also give us a
particular sector of the sky to search since the orbit will be very long and
slow. For that reason I am still
skeptical. It should be obvious from
these tentative statistics.
Alternatively we are dealing with
hugely elongigated orbit, yet that may not give us this signature. Disturbances in the Oort cloud could well
have taken place millennia ago and we are seeing late arrivals when the effects
are damped down.
Such a planet on an elliptical orbit
that is nearly circular would also be sweeping the Oort cloud clean inside its
orbit and that is certainly not happening.
Thus a rare pass from a planet on a long orbit that arrives every few millennia
seems far more likely. Of course the
focal point for comets would also be drifting and be hard to back track not
knowing the planet’s orbit.
And we have the additional
complication that the sun orbits through the Sirius cluster every 180,000 years
or so.
At the end of the day this is real confirmation that all these conjectures are not a waste of time. Something is really out there that we do not know yet.
Largest planet in the solar system could be about to be discovered
- and it's up to four times the size of Jupiter
Last updated at 9:52 AM on 14th February 2011
Scientists believe they may have found a new planet in the far reaches
of the solar system, up to four times the mass of Jupiter.
Its orbit would be thousands of times further from the Sun than the
Earth's - which could explain why it has so far remained undiscovered.
Data which could prove the existence of Tyche, a gas giant in the outer
Oort Cloud, is set to be released later this year - although some believe proof
has already been garnered by Nasa with its pace telescope, Wise, and is waiting
to be pored over.
A new world? Astronomers believe a huge gas giant may be within the
remote Oort Cloud region
Prof Daniel Whitmire from the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette
He told the Independent: 'If it does, [fellow astrophysicist Prof John
Matese] and I will be doing cartwheels. And that's not easy at our age.'
He added he believes it will mainly be made of hydrogen and helium,
with an atmosphere like Jupiter's, with spots and rings and clouds, adding:
'You'd also expect it to have moons. All the outer planets have them.'
He believes the planet is so huge, it will have a raised temperature
left from its formation that will make it far higher than others, such as
Pluto, at -73C, as 'it takes an object this size a long time to cool off'.
Isolated: The Oort Cloud, where Tyche is believed to be, is a sphere
with a radius of one light year
He and Prof Matese first suggested Tyche existed because of the angle
comets were arriving, with a fifth of the expected number since 1898 entering
higher than expected.
However, Tyche - if it exists - should also dislodge comets closer to
home, from the inner Oort Cloud, but they have not been seen.
If confirmed, the status and name of the new planet - which would
become the ninth and potentially the largest - would then have to be agreed by
the International Astronomical Union .
Currently named Tyche, from the Greek goddess that governed the destiny
of a city, its name may have to change, as it originated from a theory which
has now been largely abandoned.
Read more:
Solar System’s “Planet X” Tyche
Researchers propose new planet "Tyche" on distant fringe of
solar system. Inner planets on this diagram are too close to the Sun to see. (Credit:
Ben McGee)
Our solar system may have just gotten a lot more interesting.
Researchers studying the orbits of comets at the University of Louisiana
This calls to mind another similar hypothesis based on the apparently
cyclical nature of mass extinctions throughout Earth’s history and on
geologic evidence from the Moon.
Called the Nemesis theory, it proposes that our solar system
is actually a binary star system, and that the Sun’s twin is a small, dim, red
dwarf star named Nemesisorbiting far beyond the Oort cloud. As
the theory goes, Nemesis passes close enough to the Oort cloud to
send a deadly rain of comets into the inner solar system every few-score-million
years or so. The name here is completely appropriate, as those familiar
with Greek Mythology will recall that Nemesis is the
goddess of Retribution.
While the Tyche and Nemesis models are clearly
different proposals, the researchers offering the new proposal are aware of the
similarities. According to Greek Mythology, Tyche is Nemesis’s
good sister, the goddess of Fortune and Luck. Say what you will about the
penchant of astronomers to lean on mythology
Robert Howe
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