Could explain pattern of mass extinctions on Earth
Posted by
JAC on 2/15/2011, 8:02 pm
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/15/scientists-telescope-hunt-massive-hidden-object-in-space/?hpt=C2
Evidence is mounting that either a brown dwarf star or a gas giant planet is lurking at the outermost reaches of our solar system, far beyond Pluto. The theoretical object, dubbed Tyche, is estimated to be four times the size of Jupiter and 15,000 times farther from the sun than Earth, according to a story in the British paper The Independent.
Astrophysicists John Matese and Daniel Whitmire from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette think data from NASA's infrared space telescope WISE will confirm Tyche's existence and location within two years.
The presence of such a massive object in the solar system's far-flung Oort Cloud could explain a barrage of comets from an unexpected direction, according to a December article at Space.com.
Its 27 million-year orbit could also explain a pattern of mass extinctions on Earth, scientists say.
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In this thread:
Largest planet in the solar system could be about to be discovered -
JAC,
2/14/2011, 7:34 am- Could explain pattern of mass extinctions on Earth - JAC, 2/15/2011, 8:02 pm
- WISE search for objects in the IR - JAC, 2/14/2011, 9:09 pm
- Russia Prolly has Pictures of it Too.... - Anung Mwka, 2/14/2011, 6:36 pm
- Up telescope! Search begins for giant new planet - JAC, 2/14/2011, 4:42 pm
- Re: Largest planet in the solar system could be about to be discovered - hillsboroughweather, 2/14/2011, 9:20 am
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