The Carnival of Space is up at Universe Today.
Universe Today – New Clues Emerge for the Existence of Planet 9
Above – Artist’s impression of Planet Nine, blocking out the Milky Way. The Sun is in the distance, with the orbit of Neptune shown as a ring. Credit: ESO/Tomruen/nagualdesign
A study argues that Planet 9 was responsible for tilting the orbits of the Solar planets over the past 4.5 billion years. This not only provided additional evidence for Planet 9, but also answered a long standing mystery in astrophysics – why the planets are tilted 6 degrees relative to the Sun’s equator.
As Batygin indicated, all of this adds up to a solid case for the existence of a yet-to-discovered massive planet in the outer Solar System:
“No other model can explain the weirdness of these high-inclination orbits. It turns out that Planet Nine provides a natural avenue for their generation. These things have been twisted out of the solar system plane with help from Planet Nine and then scattered inward by Neptune.”
Universe Today – Not an Alien Megastructure, a Cloud of Dust on a 700-Day Orbit
Researchers consulted data that was obtained by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst mission between January and December of 2016. Whereas Spitzer conducted observations in the infrared band, Swift gathered data in the ultraviolet band. This was then compared to visible light gathered during the same period by AstroLAB IRIS’s 68-cm (27-inch) reflecting telescope.
What they found was that KIC 8462852 experienced less dimming in the infrared band than in the ultraviolet. This, they concluded, was a strong indication that material transiting in front of the star was likely no larger than a few micrometers (about one ten-thousands of an inch) in diameter, since anything larger would cause the light to dim equally across all wavelengths.
The particles must be larger than interstellar dust. Otherwise, the pressure caused by KIC 8462852’s solar wind would drive these particles out into space over time. A circumstellar disk of dust particles would not only be able to remain in orbit, it would also explain the uneven changes in the star’s brightness.
Universe Today – New Study Proposes a Giant, Space-Based Solar Flare Shield for Earth
Universe Today – LIGO Scientists who Detected Gravitational Waves Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics
Nextbigfuture –
Spacex is aiming for two rocket landings in 48 hours this week.
Nextbigfuture – US announces returning to the moon as a top priority
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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