Latest news with #PlanetaryScienceInstitute
Forbes
4 days ago
- Science
- Forbes
There's Suddenly A 40% Chance ‘Planet Nine' Exists — What To Know
After studying thousands of computer simulations of the solar system, researchers at Rice University and the Planetary Science Institute think there's a 40% chance an elusive 'Planet Nine' or 'Planet X' might exist in the outer solar system. It's the latest hint that there may be an undiscovered world beyond the orbit of Neptune and dwarf planet Pluto. The new study published in Nature Astronomy reveals that 'wide-orbit' planets — those that orbit the sun from at least 100 times farther than Earth orbits the sun — may be a natural consequence of how planets form. According to NASA, planets form from the giant, donut-shaped region of gas and dust that surrounds young stars, known as a protoplanetary disk. As planets jostle for space, the chaos can cause some to be flung into much wider orbits. The research increases the likelihood that Planet X or Planet Nine, hypothetical planets that may or may not exist in the outer solar system, actually exist. 'Essentially, we're watching pinballs in a cosmic arcade,' said André Izidoro, lead author of the study and assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Rice University. 'When giant planets scatter each other through gravitational interactions, some are flung far away from their star.' If the timing and surrounding environment are just right, those planets don't get ejected but are trapped in extremely wide orbits — which could have happened in the solar system as Uranus and Neptune grew or the later scattering among gas giants. 'There is up to a 40% chance that a Planet Nine-like object could have been trapped during that time,' said Izidoro. 'We're not just increasing the odds of finding Planet Nine — we're opening a new window into the architecture and evolution of planetary systems throughout the galaxy.' Various objects have been discovered beyond Neptune in highly elongated yet remarkably similarly oriented orbits, as if the gravitational influence of a planet midway between Earth and Neptune, in mass, has herded them. If it exists, it's in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune that's home to Pluto, other dwarf planets and comets. In May, scientists in Taiwan, searching for a ninth planet, found hints of something in archival images taken by long-dead infrared telescopes. It's hoped that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory — which will use the world's most powerful camera to survey the sky starting later in 2025 — will either find or rule out Planet Nine. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto's status from a planet to a 'plutoid,' which was later changed to a dwarf planet. It's become fashionable to deny this, maintaining that the solar system must still have nine planets. However, Pluto's status was changed for a good reason. In 2003, an object farther out in the Kuiper Belt than Pluto was discovered. It became known as Eris, and crucially, it's almost the same size as Pluto. Those who still maintain there are nine planets in the solar system are, therefore, wrong — if you keep Pluto, you must also have Eris. With three slightly smaller Pluto-like objects also found — Makemake, Haumea and Sedna — it's easy to see why the IAU decided to re-classify Pluto rather than admit a possibly ever-increasing roster of new objects to planet-status. Further reading
Metro
04-06-2025
- General
- Metro
A passing star could fling the Earth out of the Sun's orbit
The Earth may one day be pulled out of its perfect position by a passing star, a new study has revealed. And Mercury will also play a part. The smallest planet has an oval-shaped orbit, which can sometimes wobble due to Jupiter's huge gravitational influence as the solar system's largest planet. A passing star could exacerbate this affect, with significant consequences on the planet we call home... (Picture: Getty) Dr Nathan Kaib, an astronomer at the Planetary Science Institute, who is based in Iowa, and Dr Sean Raymond, an astronomer at the University of Bordeaux in France, published their findings in the journal Icarus after they created simulations of what would happen when our solar system passes nearby stars over the next several billion years (Picture: Getty) The researchers said the gravity of a passing star could hurl us into space - predicting a probability that this could happen of 1 in 500 or 0.2%. However, that is not the only thing that could happen. The sheer gravitational force could also throw all the planets out of whack, and could even send one of them smashing into Earth (Picture: Getty) What could happen is that Mercury would go off path, and collide with either the Sun or Venus. Then, this could lead either Venus or Mars to crash into Earth or the Earth to crash into the Sun. Another scenario is that Venus and Mars could fling out toward Jupiter, with the planet's gravity throwing Earth out of the Solar System altogether (Picture: Getty) Dr Kaib, who was the lead author, wrote: 'Our simulations indicate that isolated models of the solar system can underestimate the degree of our giant planets' future secular orbital changes by over an order of magnitude.' The work shows that astronomers may be overlooking the influence of distant objects and how our solar system interacts with the rest of the universe (Picture: Getty) Speaking to Science News, Dr Kaib revealed that there's about a 5% chance that over the next five billion years that a wayward star could come within 100 astronomical units of our solar system. This is around 100 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. But, there's no need to worry (Picture: Getty) Dr Kaib said to the site that 'none of these things are probable.' However, in the paper he writes: 'Nonetheless, this probability of Earth orbital change is hundreds of times larger than prior estimates.' They also note, that stars which move slowly, at less than 10 kilometers per second relative to the Sun, are risky as they will prolong their gravitational tugs on our planet (Picture: Getty)
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scientists Fear a Passing Star Could Fling Earth Out of the Sun's Orbit, Into the Frigid Expanse Beyond
Scientists like to refer to our planet as residing in the "Goldilocks zone," where it's neither too hot nor too cold, and just the right distance away from the Sun to support life. But in the classic "Goldilocks" fairy tale, our eponymous protagonist is forced to flee from the bears' abode she rudely invited herself into, never to return. No more perfect porridges or adequately sized beds. That could be the case for Earth one day, if we are to exhaust this analogy. Instead of being booted out by unfriendly bears, however, we might be kicked to the curb by a passing star. Actually, an untimely eviction might be the good scenario. A new study published in the journal Icarus suggests that the gravity of an unmoored star could, like we mentioned, hurl us into the frigid expanse of space — or it could jumble the orbits of the other planets enough to send one of them crashing straight into Earth, delivered, all too belatedly, like a cosmic misericorde. Morbid as it is to envision our planet's demise, the work illustrates how our solar system, far from a sequestered island, is in tune with the rest of the universe, and that astronomers may be overlooking the influence of distant objects. "Our simulations indicate that isolated models of the solar system can underestimate the degree of our giant planets' future secular orbital changes by over an order of magnitude," wrote study lead author Nathan Kaib, an astronomer at the Planetary Science Institute, in the paper. Summarizing his latest findings, Kaib told Science News there's about a five percent chance — over the next five billion years — that a wayward star could come within 100 astronomical units of our solar system, or about 100 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Should that happen, all eyes should be on Mercury. In the researchers' simulations, Mercury's orbit could become so elliptical that it smacks into either the Sun or Venus. That, in turn, could cause Venus or Mars to careen into Earth — that is, if the gravitational havoc doesn't cause our planet to go the way of Icarus, instead. Barring that, Earth could be knocked in the direction of Jupiter, before the gas giant homers us into the void of interstellar space. There's a silver lining. "None of these things are probable," Kaib told Science News. There's only 0.2 percent chance of one these grim scenarios befalling Earth, in a generous window stretching billions of years. "Nonetheless, this probability of Earth orbital change is hundreds of times larger than prior estimates," Kaib emphasizes in the paper. Kaib previously published research which suggested that the Earth's orbit was altered by a passing star three million years ago, opening the possibility that events like these could have been responsible for historical fluctuations in the Earth's climate. At the same time, it's a slightly unsettling reminder of just how delicate the architecture of our galactic neck of the woods can be. "It's a little scary how vulnerable we may be to planetary chaos," Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson who was not involved with the study, told Science News. More on astronomy: Scientists Detect Mysterious Object in Deep Solar System
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Is THIS how the world will end? Scientists warn Earth could be flung out of orbit by a passing star - leaving humans to freeze to death
From Armageddon to the Day After Tomorrow, there have been plenty of Hollywood movies about how our world might end. But if there is to be a global apocalypse, what might be to blame for wiping out all life on Earth? Scientists believe they may finally have the answer - and it suggests we could face a grisly demise. In a new study, researchers from the Planetary Science Institute and the University of Bordeaux predict that Earth could be flung out of orbit by a passing star. And without our Sun there to keep us warm, this would leave any inhabitants - including humans - to freeze to death. Thankfully, the chances of this happening are very low. Over the next five billion years, the chance of Earth being flung out of orbit by a passing star is around one in 500, according to the team. 'We find a 0.3% chance that Mars will be lost through collision or ejection and a 0.2% probability that Earth will be involved in a planetary collision or ejected,' the team wrote in their study. For decades, scientists have pondered how the Earth could end. A wandering black hole, giant asteroid impact and nuclear war could all trigger catastrophic disasters, as could the rise of killer robots or the reversal of our planet's magnetic field. In their new study, published in arXiv, Nathan Kaib and Sean Reynold set out to understand whether passing stars could be to blame. 'The long-term dynamical future of the Sun's planets has been simulated and statistically analyzed in great detail,' the pair explained. 'But most prior work considers the solar system as completely isolated, neglecting the potential influence of field star passages.' To answer this question, the pair ran thousands of simuations of our solar system in the presence of passing stars over the next five billion years. Worryingly, their simulations revealed that our solar system's eight planets - as well as dwarf planet, Pluto - are 'significantly less stable than previouly thought'. Pluto faces the greatest risk of being lost through a collision or ejection, with the simulations revealing a five per cent chance. Mars fares slightly better with a 0.3 per cent chance, while Earth has a 0.2 per cent chance of being flung out of the solar system. As for the passing stars to be on the lookout for, the researchers predict that the most dangerous ones are those that come within 100 times as far from the sun as Earth is. According to the simulations, there's about a five per cent chance of such a close encounter over the next five billion years. 'In summary, passing stars can alter the stability of the planets and Pluto as well as the secular architecture of the giant planets over the next 5 Gyrs [5 billion years,' the authors concluded. 'Their significance on the solar system's dynamical future largely depends on the strength of the most powerful stellar passage over this time span, which is uncertain by orders of magnitude. 'This uncertainty in the Sun's future powerful stellar encounters means that the spectrum of future secular evolution and planetary instabilities is broader than that implied by isolated models of solar system evolution.'
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sky Watch: What's Up In the April 14 - 21 Night Sky, Including A First Look At The Lyrid Meteor Shower
From a chance to see some of the Lyrid Meteor Shower to Venus, Hydra, and Leo, mid-April stargazing doesn't disappoint. Here's our guide to what's up in the night sky for the week of April 14 to April 21. Monday - Look for Mars and Jupiter in the Western sky around sunset. They'll be visible all month. Tuesday - Watch for Venus, the closest planet to Earth and the brightest in our solar system, to reach peak brightness in the early mornings this week. Wednesday - Two constellations might be easy to spot this week, Leo and Hydra. The latter is only seen in the Northern Hemisphere in winter into spring. Thursday - This is when the Lyrid Meteor Shower picks up. It doesn't peak until the night of April 21 into the morning of April 22, but the Lyrids start to get active a few days prior. That's why early Thursday morning before sunrise is a good time to start watching. You can check your sunrise time here. The first known observation of the Lyrids was in 687 BC, making it one of the earliest recorded meteor showers. 'So we're going on 3,000 years of looking at this,' Pamela Gay, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, told us in a recent interview. The bright quarter moon could make the show a little harder to see this year, though. Weekend - Look for Saturn in the eastern sky before sunrise, about the same time as Venus but lower in the sky. From senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman: We'll see a pair of frontal systems in the Midwest and East, one Monday through Tuesday, then another one Thursday through Saturday. Meanwhile, a spinning area of low pressure could bring showers and thunderstorms to the Southwest, then to parts of the Plains late next week into the Easter weekend. -Here's What's Up In April's Night Sky -Don't Miss These Top Celestial Events Of 2025 -Weather Words: The 'Da Vinci Glow?' senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
