Evidence mounts for planet 10x the size of Earth orbiting beyond Pluto

[jwl]

So it never comes into the inner system, stays beyond Neptune... isn't that the definition of the Kuiper Belt?

Remember, the Kuiper Belt isn't the only thing way out there past Neptune. Depending on what the orbit ends up looking like, Planet Wossname might turn out to be in the Scattered Disk, or even a Detached Object, which is even further out.

We need confirmed sightings and a nailed-down orbit; all we have so far are some logical consequences of a number of weirdnesses in existing Trans-Neptunian orbits. As the modern mangled version of the old saying goes, correlation doesn't imply causation, but it does waggle its eyebrows suggestively.

We do know (ish) what this planet's orbit is if it exists: 200-350au at the closest point in the orbit and 500-1200au at the furthest point.

How about calling it "Chione"? Chione was a greco-roman minor goddess of snow, which would be appropriate for a planet herding Kuiper Belt objects.

Already taken, it's an asteriod. As I said, almost every Greco-Roman god has a solar system object named after them. There are a decent number of other name varients of Greco-Roman gods left, but I think it would probably be better to stop using Greco-Roman gods altogether.

[Guardsman Bass]

Already taken, it's an asteriod. As I said, almost every Greco-Roman god has a solar system object named after them. There are a decent number of other name varients of Greco-Roman gods left, but I think it would probably be better to stop using Greco-Roman gods altogether.

Names aren't exclusive when it comes to asteroids, aside from a handful of the biggest ones. The largest Near Earth Asteroid, for example, is 1036 Ganymed - even though we already had a moon of Jupiter named Ganymede when it was discovered in 1924.

[jwl]

Already taken, it's an asteriod. As I said, almost every Greco-Roman god has a solar system object named after them. There are a decent number of other name varients of Greco-Roman gods left, but I think it would probably be better to stop using Greco-Roman gods altogether.

Names aren't exclusive when it comes to asteroids, aside from a handful of the biggest ones. The largest Near Earth Asteroid, for example, is 1036 Ganymed - even though we already had a moon of Jupiter named Ganymede when it was discovered in 1924.

As I said, there are varients. Personally I don't like the practice, but anyway, you'd still need to find an alternative varient, like Chion or something.

[Guardsman Bass]

I think I'd do that. It just doesn't feel right not having a Latin name for one of the major planets.

[Solauren]

Interesting, and exciting if they confirm it.

Apparently, there are a few planetary formation theories that have a lot small planets forming in the inner solar system. These planets, called Ogliarch, in the models, are tossed out of the solar system (meaning any Rogue planets we find within 1 - 2 LY of our sun might have started off inside our solar system), or tossed into an area roughly 1000 - 10000 AU out. 'Planet 9' could be the inner most of this group. There could be hundreds, or more, of these worlds floating in the outer edge of the solar system.

The long-term implications for resources are staggering to consider.....

[jwl]

The long-term implications for resources are staggering to consider.....

They are? To my understanding, smaller bodies like asteroids are better for resources than planets because a) they are not massive enough to be gravitationally differentiated, so heavier elements like platinum which fell to the core on earth are there on the surface, b) they don't have an atmosphere, meaning that they get bombarded with particles that create interesting isotopes you can't get on earth, and c) they don't have a huge gravitational well, meaning you can get on and off with a smaller rocket.

[Captain Seafort]

The long-term implications for resources are staggering to consider.....

They are? To my understanding, smaller bodies like asteroids are better for resources than planets because a) they are not massive enough to be gravitationally differentiated, so heavier elements like platinum which fell to the core on earth are there on the surface, b) they don't have an atmosphere, meaning that they get bombarded with particles that create interesting isotopes you can't get on earth, and c) they don't have a huge gravitational well, meaning you can get on and off with a smaller rocket.

Don't forget d) most of them are "only" 1-2 AU away rather than several hundred.

[Simon_Jester]

If there were dozens of such planets it would represent a considerable extra supply of resources available in the solar system as a whole- there's only so much solid rocky matter in the inner system even if you seriously consider taking apart Mercury, Venus, and so on for building materials. But they'd be very hard to access, and it would be a matter of centuries or millenia to get any mileage out of them.

There's a catch when we talk about the idea of rogue planets orbiting the Sun at distances on the order of tens of thousands of light years, though- close passes with other stars.

Apparently, there are a few planetary formation theories that have a lot small planets forming in the inner solar system. These planets, called Ogliarch, in the models, are tossed out of the solar system (meaning any Rogue planets we find within 1 - 2 LY of our sun might have started off inside our solar system), or tossed into an area roughly 1000 - 10000 AU out. 'Planet 9' could be the inner most of this group. There could be hundreds, or more, of these worlds floating in the outer edge of the solar system.

If bodies are orbiting the Sun at radii on the order of ten thousand AU out, the probability that they'd eventually be yanked away by another star is pretty high. The Sun has close encounters with other stars... not often but it's happened many times during the history of our solar system. I wouldn't expect orbits that far out to remain stable, although it's entirely possible that we would steal planetoids from them just like they would from us.

[Solauren]

1000 AU - 10000 AU is not that far in astronomical terms. In fact, it's not even the Oort Cloud. There are probably some Ogliarch's still out there.

As for asteroids first. Obviously. However, if we ever get to the point of looking to other worlds for materials, we won't have to leave the solar system nearly as quickly.

[Simon_Jester]

By the way, Solauren, I am pretty damn sure it's not spelled "ogliarch."

Anyway. 1000 AU is not that far out, but 10000 AU is- far enough that the effect of close passes with other stars might well cause a lot of such planets to be flung out of their orbits altogether. Conversely, if such planets are common throughout the galaxy, Sol may have captured exoplanets from other star systems it has passed close to.

[Adam Reynolds]

No real comment to make here, but xkcd had a fairly amusing diagram of this.

[Bedlam]

No real comment to make here, but xkcd had a fairly amusing diagram of this.

I'd argue that wrong because the artist probably wasn't 10K km from the earth when he drew it.

[Adam Reynolds]

The center of a planet 5,000 km away that had a diameter of 10,000 would indeed hit Earth.

[Simon_Jester]

The Earth is at that point because that's the distance to the center of the Earth.

The Earth is, from Munroe's point of view, a planet a bit over 12700 kilometers in diameter, located a bit over 6370 kilometers away.

Planets whose radius would be larger than the distance from Munroe to their own center are ruled out on the diagram "because I would be inside them" for this very reason.

[jwl]

It is in the wrong place somewhat but that could easily be just because it's a log scale and any errors in position are magnified.

[Bedlam]

The Earth is at that point because that's the distance to the center of the Earth.

Ahhh, that makes much more sense.

[Flagg]

So it's Nemesis?

[Borgholio]

No, Nemesis is a brown dwarf orbiting even farther out and likely doesn't exist.

[Flagg]

No, Nemesis is a brown dwarf orbiting even farther out and likely doesn't exist.

I thought it was a shit Star Trek: TNG movie.

But yeah, I just like to say that every time they find some huge object in the Kuiper belt that's not supposed to be there.