• @threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    5928 days ago

    Always “Pluto, Pluto, Pluto”. Why does no one ever remember Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake? They’re each as much of a “planet” as Pluto is.

    • @ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2528 days 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

      • Denvil
        link
        English
        1528 days 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?

      • _NoName_
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1527 days 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

      • @ReeferPirate@lemy.lol
        link
        fedilink
        English
        11
        edit-2
        28 days 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
          link
          fedilink
          English
          528 days 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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        10
        edit-2
        28 days 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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        428 days 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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        328 days 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
          link
          fedilink
          English
          327 days 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.

    • HobbitFoot
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1028 days ago

      Ceres was thought to be a planet as well. Better telescopes got it demoted.