• ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Meanwhile I’m more focused on the “invisible 9th planet”

    There’s apparently some gravitational data that says there should be a 9th planet in between Jupiter and Saturn* that we’ve simply been unable to physical observe.

    *I don’t remember the actual placement

    • _NoName_@lemmy.ml
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      5 months ago

      We’ve had “hidden” planets multiple times actually. In one case, we discovered Neptune by observing that Uranus’ orbit was wonky, and this really Bolstered peoples’ trust of Newton’s gravitational theory.

      The existence of another planet even closer to the sun than Mercury, Vulcan, was also hypothesized by the same astronomer who predicted Neptune’s existence. This was due to Mercury also having a wonky orbit. After Einstein’s general relativity came about though, it was found that no new planet was necessary to explain Mercury’s orbit.

      I think this new planet is the one predicted by Cal Tech “Planet Nine”, is supposedly 10 Earths in size, orbits on average 20 times further out than Neptune, and has a very oblong orbit out in deep space.

      As another ‘fun’ tangent, there is some debate every now and again that dark matter may demonstrate that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is also flawed and that we’re in need of a new theory. Currently, though, there has not been a sufficient new theory to take its place, so the existence of ‘unseen’ matter still is the strongest explanation we have. I put ‘fun’ in quotes because it seems like this debate is starting to affect astronomers and physicists the same way that 'The Orangutan" affects Edgar Allen Poe experts. Video related

      • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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        5 months ago

        If astronomers named Vulcan before we ever saw it, then let’s name planet 9 already. I propose either Erebus (darkness) or Letum (death)

      • doughless@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Angela Collier actually goes a little more in depth in that video on why MOND is unlikely, even though she does admit it hasn’t been fully ruled out. I didn’t get the impression physicists don’t talk about it because it causes debates, which she claimed seems to happen more often on the internet. I got the impression that most physicists just think it is unlikely to go anywhere, so they just aren’t as interested in it.

    • Denvil@lemmy.one
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      5 months ago

      I thought we figured out why the calculations were off and it wasn’t actually because of an unknown body out yonder? Is there new evidence or am i just misremembering stuff?

    • ReeferPirate@lemy.lol
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      5 months ago

      The proposed 9th planet is beyond Sedna and is hypothesized because Kuiper belt objects are orbiting strangely to they figure a gravitational influence from further out is causing it. Uranus was seen doing the same thing and that’s how Neptune was confirmed found.

      • TexasDrunk@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Wasn’t it supposed to be way the hell off of the orbital plane? I can’t find anything searching for it now but I swear I remember they thought its orbit would be weird compared to the other planets.

    • threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      between Jupiter and Saturn* that we’ve simply been unable to physical observe.

      *I don’t remember the actual placement

      If it were as close as Saturn, we’d be able to easily see it. If additional planets exist, they would be beyond Neptune, and likely quite far beyond it.

    • Neato@ttrpg.network
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      5 months ago

      Do you have a link for that? Pluto is tiny and much farther away and we can easily see it. There’s no reason I can think of why we couldn’t see a planet in that orbit, even a small one.

    • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      We definitely have the telescopes to find it now if it exists, so I’d say it doesn’t exist. What if it’s a tiny black hole? Maybe it’s a wormhole to Alpha Centauri!

      • cynar@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        It’s theorised to be on an elliptic, off plane orbit. We currently lack the telescopes to do a true sweep of the skies, at the resolution needed to find it. If we know where to look, it’s easy. However, we don’t know where to look right now.