Does Jupiter Have a Bigger Brother Hiding in the Oort Cloud?
Two University of Louisiana astrophysicists believe that a huge gas giant, made up mostly of hydrogen and helium that is four times the size of Jupiter, may lie in the outer Oort cloud — the most remote part of our Solar System. The gas giant's existence could explain why many long-period comets come from the wrong direction and why 20 per cent more than expected of the long-period comets observed since 1898 arrive from a band circling the sky at a higher angle than predicted by galactic-tide theory. The two astrophysicists, John Matese and Daniel Whitmire, are proposing that gravity from this yet-to-be discovered planet may be altering the course of comets and causing these anomalies.
Comments:
And if, indeed, we someday discover that the Oort Cloud does not exist, and that these comets have some other magical source (perhaps a giant orbiting Pez comet dispenser), then the hypothesis will be replaced.
And your point is...
I've just one thing I want you to consider. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it? <br><br>What does Mark Twain have to do with this?
The expectation is that, if the hypothetical "Bigger Brother" to Jupiter, Tyche, exists it may be identified by data already accumulated in IR data by WISE. <br><br>Why not detection by radio telescopes? <br><br>Jupiter is the strongest natural radio source observed in the Solar System.<br><br>If Tyche is basically a larger version of Jupiter, it ought to be an even stonger "radio star." <br><br>Of course, if Tyche rotates on its axis with a longer period than the "closer-in" gas giants, its radio frequency emissions will be reduced. <br><br>Has anyone "looked" at radio wavelengths?<br>
<br>Maybe the imaginary giant gas planet Tyche is orbiting arount the imaginary dim binary star Nemesis that is lurking inside the imaginary Oort Cloud... Just imagine that.<br><br>Einstein would be proud -- We've now taken thought experiments to a whole new level.<br><br>Yes, imagination is a wonderful thing... As long as one is able to keep proven fact separate from pure conjecture.<br><br>And that's all I have to say about that.<br><br>Guy<br><br><br>
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