FREE AstroScience SEARCH ENGINE

Friday, June 30, 2023

Hidden Planet in the Oort Cloud: An Unexplored Frontier of Our Solar System?


5:21 PM | ,

Hidden Planet in the Oort Cloud
We've all grown up with the knowledge that the Sun is surrounded by eight or nine planets, depending on Pluto's controversial status. But what if our solar system held an additional secret, a hidden planet in its remote outskirts? 

According to a new study published in MNRAS Letters, the outer edges of the solar system, known to house numerous comets, may also be home to another planet. The researchers estimate a 7% probability of an additional planet residing in the Oort cloud, a vast area filled with icy debris and rocks where comets originate.


The Oort cloud's sheer size and distance are staggering, with its boundary lying tens of thousands of times further from the Sun than Earth. The researchers' computer simulations suggest that one out of every 200 to 3,000 other stars likely has a similar distant planet.



Nathan Kaib, a co-author of the study and an astronomer at the Planetary Science Institute, asserts, "Our solar system capturing an Oort cloud planet is entirely feasible." He defines these concealed celestial bodies as "a category of planets that should undoubtedly exist but have been relatively overlooked" until now.


If a planet does exist within this cloud, it would likely be an ice giant. Large planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are typically formed as twins. However, their substantial gravitational pull can lead to cosmic chaos, often resulting in one planet being ejected—either expelled from the system entirely or exiled to the outer reaches, leaving behind traces of its unique orbital journey.


Ref: Pop Sci; Journal MNRAS Letters



You Might Also Like :


0 commenti:

Post a Comment