Results 1 to 16 of 16

Thread: Hidden Super Earth in solar system

  1. #1
    FROGALLIC
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    Jérôme Frenchise's Avatar
    Member No
    9783
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 02:10 PM
    Location
    Frogland
    Age
    53
    Posts
    7,172
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,041
    Thanked 508 Times in 376 Posts


    Rep Power
    32

    Hidden Super Earth in solar system

    http://www.theguardian.com/science/2...tem-2012-vp113

    Dwarf planet discovery hints at a hidden Super Earth in solar system


    The orbits of Sedna (orange) and dwarf planet 2012 VP113 (red). Also shown are the orbits of the giant planets (purple). The Kuiper belt is the dotted light blue region. Illustration: Scott S Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science

    Astronomers have increased the size of the observable solar system after spotting a 450-km wide object orbiting the sun.

    The lump of ice and rock circles the sun at a greater distance than any known object, and never gets closer than 12bn kilometres – 80 times the distance from Earth to the sun.

    If its size is confirmed it could qualify as a dwarf planet in the same category as Pluto. Researchers said the discovery proves the existence of the inner Oort cloud, a region of icy bodies that lies far beyond the orbit of Neptune – which at 4.5bn kilometres from the sun is the most remote planet in the solar system.

    Until a proper name is decided upon, the body is known only as 2012 VP113. According to the science journal Nature, the team that discovered it call it VP for short, or "Biden", after US vice president Joe Biden.

    Its pink tinge comes from radiation damage that alters the make-up of frozen water, methane and carbon dioxide on the surface.

    Though exciting in its own right, the discovery raises a more tantalising prospect for many astronomers: that a "Super Earth" up to 10 times the mass of our planet orbits the sun at such a great distance that it has never been seen.


    Three images of the newly discovered dwarf planet 2012 VP 113 taken about two hours apart on 5 November 2012. Photograph: Scott S Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science

    Astronomers found 2012 VP113 by taking snapshots of the night sky an hour or so apart with an instrument called the Dark Energy Camera on the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory telescope in Chile. When they turned the images into a time-lapse movie of the sky, they could see the new body moving against the background of stationary stars.

    Advertisement

    "This object has the most distant orbit known," Scott Sheppard at the Carnegie Institution of Washington told the Guardian. "It extends the known boundary of the observable solar system."

    The object's orbit brings it as close as 12bn kilometres from the sun, and swings out as far as 67bn kilometres. There are comets that come from even farther out, but they pass much closer to our home planet.

    The solar system has three distinct regions. Closest to the sun are the rocky planets, such as Venus, Earth and Mars. Farther out are the gas giants, such as Saturn and Jupiter. More distant still, beyond the orbit of Neptune, is a band of icy objects called the Kuiper belt.

    In 2003, astronomers found an object beyond the Kuiper belt, which they called Sedna. For more than a decade, the object was a loner, an anomaly in the solar system. But the new body, 2012 VP113, lurks in the same no-man's land of space, leading astronomers to believe there could be thousands of similar bodies waiting to be discovered there.

    "People wondered if Sedna was unique, and 10 years on, we have at last found another object that shows it is not. There is probably a large population of objects out there," Sheppard said.


    The dwarf planet (coloured dots). Three images, each taken about two hours apart, were combined into one. The first was artificially colored red, second green and third blue. The background stars and galaxies did not move and so their red, green and blue images combine to show up as white sources. Photograph: Scott S Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science

    The region of space where Sedna and 2012 VP113 were found is called the inner Oort cloud. Astronomers are unsure how this remote cloud of objects formed, but there are three competing theories. One is that a rogue planet was flung out of the early solar system and dragged the Oort cloud material with it.

    Another is that the material was pulled out of the inner solar system by a passing star. The third option has the same job done by planets orbiting stars born in the same cluster as the sun.

    "What is exciting about this work is that we know the inner Oort cloud is there. This is the second object we know of, and it's a smoking gun," said Meg Schwamb, a planetary scientist at the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Academica Sinica in Taiwan. By studying the objects, astronomers hope to confirm how the inner Oort cloud formed.

    Sheppard found the new object, reported in Nature, with fellow astronomer, Chad Trujillo, who works at the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii. Trujillo was a co-discoverer of Sedna in 2003.

    The latest work has already thrown up an intriguing possibility. The angle of the body's orbit and that of Sedna's are strikingly similar, an effect most likely caused by the gravitational tug of another, unseen body. One possibility is a "Super Earth" that traces so large an orbit around the sun that it has never been seen.

    "If you took a Super Earth and put it a few hundred astronomical units out, the gravity could shepherd Sedna and this new object into the orbits they have," said Sheppard. An astronomical unit (AU) is around 150m kilometres, or the mean distance from Earth to the sun.

    Earlier this month, Nasa's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (Wise) reported the results from its search for "Planet X", a hypothesised planet far out in the solar system. It found no evidence for a new planet larger than Saturn within 10,000 AU of the sun. But Saturn is 95 times more massive than Earth, so a smaller Super Earth could go undetected in that region.
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

  2. #2
    FROGALLIC
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    Jérôme Frenchise's Avatar
    Member No
    9783
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 02:10 PM
    Location
    Frogland
    Age
    53
    Posts
    7,172
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,041
    Thanked 508 Times in 376 Posts


    Rep Power
    32
    How could they ever have missed anything beyond Pluto while they can almost spot "exoplanets" inside other galaxies?

  3. #3
    Sheep Pen noob
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    vandeleur's Avatar
    Member No
    24919
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    10-02-2021 @ 02:52 AM
    Location
    uk
    Posts
    9,870
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    2,960
    Thanked 2,941 Times in 2,103 Posts


    Rep Power
    54
    its how you sell it to get telescope time. Can i look for snowballs near the oort cloud comes way behind looking for ET am guessing.
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

  4. Thanked vandeleur for this KICKASS post:

    Jérôme Frenchise (01-20-2015)


  5. #4
    FROGALLIC
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    Jérôme Frenchise's Avatar
    Member No
    9783
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 02:10 PM
    Location
    Frogland
    Age
    53
    Posts
    7,172
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,041
    Thanked 508 Times in 376 Posts


    Rep Power
    32
    You must be right. It smells like they're short on funds. But this time it looks pretty gross.

  6. #5
    Fuck this and fuck that
    ROTH ARMY MODERATOR

    FORD's Avatar
    Member No
    32
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 05:58 PM
    Location
    Cascadia
    Posts
    58,671
    Status
    Online
    Thanks
    3,391
    Thanked 6,281 Times in 4,711 Posts


    Rep Power
    143
    Holy Elohim! The Mormons were right! They discovered Kolob!!
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

  7. #6
    FROGALLIC
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    Jérôme Frenchise's Avatar
    Member No
    9783
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 02:10 PM
    Location
    Frogland
    Age
    53
    Posts
    7,172
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,041
    Thanked 508 Times in 376 Posts


    Rep Power
    32
    If it's money they want, then they can ask the headquarters in Salt Lake City for some - I saw a documentary about Mormons a few months ago, they are beyond rich.

  8. #7
    ROTH ARMY WEBMASTER

    Seshmeister's Avatar
    Member No
    11
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Last Online
    Today @ 12:43 AM
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    35,078
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    2,815
    Thanked 9,347 Times in 6,031 Posts


    Rep Power
    10
    Quote Originally Posted by Jérôme Frenchise View Post
    How could they ever have missed anything beyond Pluto while they can almost spot "exoplanets" inside other galaxies?
    It's not a case of how your telescope is, it's what you do with it.

    To find exoplanets they watch stars to see if they wobble a bit due to planets around them or look for a dot on them as the planet passes between us and the star.

    In this case this dwarf planet is so far from the Sun I would guess those methods wouldn't work.
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

  9. #8
    FROGALLIC
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    Jérôme Frenchise's Avatar
    Member No
    9783
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 02:10 PM
    Location
    Frogland
    Age
    53
    Posts
    7,172
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,041
    Thanked 508 Times in 376 Posts


    Rep Power
    32
    Quote Originally Posted by Seshmeister View Post
    It's not a case of how your telescope is, it's what you do with it.

    To find exoplanets they watch stars to see if they wobble a bit due to planets around them or look for a dot on them as the planet passes between us and the star.

    In this case this dwarf planet is so far from the Sun I would guess those methods wouldn't work.
    I know about the way they detect exoplanets, it's apparently the only method.

    But when you see how clear the pictures from outer galaxies are, it's hard to figure out they can have skipped one or two planets that would be part of our solar system, no matter how far they would be, because anyway they would be up the street while in comparison another galaxy would be like overseas.

    And this "dwarf planet" is supposed to indicate the existence of one or two planets that would be bigger than Earth, which is "a little" more conspicuous than Pluto. That's why I'm skeptical. But curious at the same time, and I'm looking forward to seeing this new controversy.
    Last edited by Jérôme Frenchise; 01-20-2015 at 04:32 PM.

  10. #9
    Sheep Pen noob
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    vandeleur's Avatar
    Member No
    24919
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    10-02-2021 @ 02:52 AM
    Location
    uk
    Posts
    9,870
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    2,960
    Thanked 2,941 Times in 2,103 Posts


    Rep Power
    54

  11. #10
    Sheep Pen noob
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    vandeleur's Avatar
    Member No
    24919
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    10-02-2021 @ 02:52 AM
    Location
    uk
    Posts
    9,870
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    2,960
    Thanked 2,941 Times in 2,103 Posts


    Rep Power
    54
    If spacey stuff is ya bag I just finished reading the The Martian really good especially if you keep wikipedia on your phone .

  12. Thanked vandeleur for this KICKASS post:

    Jérôme Frenchise (01-20-2015)


  13. #11
    FROGALLIC
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    Jérôme Frenchise's Avatar
    Member No
    9783
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 02:10 PM
    Location
    Frogland
    Age
    53
    Posts
    7,172
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,041
    Thanked 508 Times in 376 Posts


    Rep Power
    32
    I'm going to buy it! "The Martian", by Andy Weir. Thanks!

    I've just seem Ridley Scott is about to adapt it on screen BTW.

  14. #12
    The Australian.
    ROTH ARMY ELITE
    ashstralia's Avatar
    Member No
    1057
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Last Online
    10-07-2023 @ 07:35 AM
    Location
    land of oz
    Posts
    6,556
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,714
    Thanked 1,102 Times in 823 Posts


    Rep Power
    38
    Sesh has got it. It's about angular size, and magnitudes of brightness. Once you get something a long long way from the sun that's tiny, it's really hard to spot at any wavelength. Visible light being of course, only a tiny fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum.
    Hey Jackass! You need to [Register] or log in to view signatures on ROTHARMY.COM!

  15. #13
    ROTH ARMY WEBMASTER

    Seshmeister's Avatar
    Member No
    11
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Last Online
    Today @ 12:43 AM
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    35,078
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    2,815
    Thanked 9,347 Times in 6,031 Posts


    Rep Power
    10
    Quote Originally Posted by Jérôme Frenchise View Post
    I'm going to buy it! "The Martian", by Andy Weir. Thanks!

    I've just seem Ridley Scott is about to adapt it on screen BTW.
    I just bought it on Audible after you guys recommended it, I hope you people know what you are talking about.

  16. #14
    Sheep Pen noob
    ROTH ARMY SUPREME
    vandeleur's Avatar
    Member No
    24919
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Last Online
    10-02-2021 @ 02:52 AM
    Location
    uk
    Posts
    9,870
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    2,960
    Thanked 2,941 Times in 2,103 Posts


    Rep Power
    54
    Just bear in mind they fixed Apollo 13 with a sock

  17. Thanked vandeleur for this KICKASS post:

    ashstralia (01-21-2015)


  18. #15
    The Australian.
    ROTH ARMY ELITE
    ashstralia's Avatar
    Member No
    1057
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Last Online
    10-07-2023 @ 07:35 AM
    Location
    land of oz
    Posts
    6,556
    Status
    Offline
    Thanks
    1,714
    Thanked 1,102 Times in 823 Posts


    Rep Power
    38
    Exactly. Imagine if they had an internet and a sock? Fiery death.

  19. #16
    Fuck this and fuck that
    ROTH ARMY MODERATOR

    FORD's Avatar
    Member No
    32
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Last Online
    Today @ 05:58 PM
    Location
    Cascadia
    Posts
    58,671
    Status
    Online
    Thanks
    3,391
    Thanked 6,281 Times in 4,711 Posts


    Rep Power
    143
    Good thing c-dog wasn't on that mission.

  20. Thanked FORD for this KICKASS post:

    vandeleur (01-21-2015)


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. How a solar storm two years ago nearly caused a catastrophe on Earth
    By Seshmeister in forum Max's Non VH/DLR Related Stuff
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 08-17-2014, 03:45 PM
  2. Voyager 2: At the Edge of the Solar System
    By Nickdfresh in forum Max's Non VH/DLR Related Stuff
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 12-04-2012, 06:32 AM
  3. New super telescope delivers unprecedented look at origins of heaven and earth...
    By Hardrock69 in forum Max's Non VH/DLR Related Stuff
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-15-2012, 08:40 PM
  4. Watergate: The Hidden History
    By Satan in forum The Front Line
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 06-11-2012, 04:46 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •