A planet-size object could be behind the Oort Cloud! NASA scientists say.

A theory, only, for the moment, a theory, before the WISE data, but the most reliable reason and a possible explanation on why a so large of number of comets nudging on our way. Jack Lissauer of NASA's Ames Research Center at the American Astronomical Society suspected a planet-size object could be hiding in the Oort Cloud.
www.scientificamerican.com...

“The model that is the simplest explanation for this is that there's a perturber in the Oort Cloud, and calculations suggest this would have to be Jupiter mass, maybe a few times the mass of Jupiter.

A swarm of comets on the fringes of the solar system, and gets close enough to Earth for us to see it. But they don't seem to be scattered at random.

There's an abundance of them around a great circle in the sky, and that suggests that there's something perturbing them in from this great circle.”

solarsystem.nasa.gov...

Listen.

Cool, at least it won't bother us at all, not even a little bit. Even if it does exist at 1 to 2 light years away, of course this makes for a very difficult study to take place.


Certainly though as the awareness of this hypothetical planet gains momentum it will fuel more doom threads.

So to anyone who reads about this hypothetical planet, again it is way to far away to have any effect of us.

Thanks for bringing that to our attention

interesting stuff;

I vote the planet be called 'ninja' as it is 'hiding' behind the oort cloud, and 'flinging' comets at us

the way these nasa types give human traits to jupiter sized objects dazzles the mind

nice find OP

Originally posted by Highlander64
interesting stuff;

I vote the planet be called 'ninja' as it is 'hiding' behind the oort cloud, and 'flinging' comets at us

the way these nasa types give human traits to jupiter sized objects dazzles the mind

nice find OP

That's actually a good name....Planet Ninja

Originally posted by guessing
Cool, at least it won't bother us at all, not even a little bit. Even if it does exist at 1 to 2 light years away, of course this makes for a very difficult study to take place.


Certainly though as the awareness of this hypothetical planet gains momentum it will fuel more doom threads.

So to anyone who reads about this hypothetical planet, again it is way to far away to have any effect of us.

Thanks for bringing that to our attention

You know that your avatar has something that looks like the sun but its face has a shadow making it a planet of some sort?

Can someone clear up for me, are they being flung specifically in an Earthwards direction? Or are they flung out at random, but because of our proximity with the Oort cloud they often come past our neck of the woods.

If the answer is the latter, seems almost somewhat concerning, no?

I am far from being an astronomer which is why I ask the question: How come they missed an asteroid that has been in earths orbit since the year dot - that doesn't make me trust what else is out there if they can't see what's in our own solar system how can they preach what is outside of it???

Okay is it being swung at us ?
If so, not much we can do about it. And read the title sheeples, "Could be" and "Is certain" are two different things.

Now that is interesting. Imagine how cool it would be to live as an alien race on a planet that is hurtling through space at such a
speed. Their atmosphere is heated by space friction and if they pass a planet they like they just throw out a big old hook and tug it allong for eternity. Now thats a comic i would buy.


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reply to post by Phage


Thank you ,Sergeant.

reply to post by dreamfox1


you know you do not have an avatar?

i have never considered my avatar apart from it reminds me of a time when I was a vamipre

Originally posted by Monkeygod333
Now that is interesting. Imagine how cool it would be to live as an alien race on a planet that is hurtling through space at such a
speed. Their atmosphere is heated by space friction and if they pass a planet they like they just throw out a big old hook and tug it allong for eternity. Now thats a comic i would buy.

 

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You just gave somebody the idea to write it!

No Niburu nuts yet??? I'm amazed!

Originally posted by guessing
Cool, at least it won't bother us at all, not even a little bit. Even if it does exist at 1 to 2 light years away, of course this makes for a very difficult study to take place.


Certainly though as the awareness of this hypothetical planet gains momentum it will fuel more doom threads.

So to anyone who reads about this hypothetical planet, again it is way to far away to have any effect of us.

Thanks for bringing that to our attention

Actually, if this is what they are saying it may be, then what it is doing is sling shooting objects toward the center of our solar system, well technically in many directions but the suns gravity catches them and they begin ttp orbit it. So basically, this things existence could increase the chances of comets being flung toward the center of our solar system, being caught by the sun, then orbiting until it hits something. The closer it moves to the sun, the more frequently it will fling objects that could be fought by the sun.

To the poster asking about the direction of the throwing, its not just throwing them at earth its throwing them in many directions, those that are sent on a path towards the sun will either collide with the sun or orbit around it on who knows what path. It's all kind of random. It's not like this discovery would make any changes other than knowledge of it existence. It's not like it only becomes physically active when we find it, its been out there for who know how long, we just didn't know.

Comets in the Oort Cloud will be moving extremely slowly (just a few metres per second), because they are so far from the Sun. It only takes a slight nudge from a passing star (or large planet) to effectively cancel out this orbital velocity, and cause the comet to fall directly towards the Sun. Of course, it works both ways, so plenty of comets will also be accelerated by a few metres per second, and that would be enough to eject them from the Solar System altogether. However, we only get to see the ones that enter the planetary region.

Command/option/view source;

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Last Updated: 23 Jun 2011

There must be some kind of point to dig out an article that's purely speculative.

Originally posted by Illustronic
Command/option/view source;

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Last Updated: 23 Jun 2011

There must be some kind of point to dig out an article that's purely speculative.

In modern terms, it is referred to as
Sensationalism.

If you can not see it, it is not real. Just remember that

Is this the theoretical planet Tyche that they announced earlier this year? It was roughly 4 times the mass of Jupiter, assuming its out there...