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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday July 26 2016, @07:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-a-little-off-kilter dept.

Two studies published on arXiv have identified the hypothetical ~10 Earth mass "Planet Nine" as an explanation for the tilt of the solar system:

Two recent studies have shown that the existence of a mysterious, hypothetical Planet Nine could explain why the planets in our Solar System don't fully line up with the Sun. Researchers have been speculating about a ninth planet since January this year, and these latest studies add more weight to the hypothesis that, at some point in time at least, there was an extra planet orbiting our Sun. In fact, if Planet Nine does exist (or did), it would help to explain something that scientists have puzzled over for decades - why the Solar System is tilted.

What does that mean? Well, basically, all of the main eight planets that orbit our Sun do so on the same plane, making the Solar System look like a disc. The problem is that the Sun spins at a different angle, with its axis roughly 6 degrees off from the rest of the planets.

In the past, researchers have attempted to explain this slant by blaming the temporary tug of a passing star, or interactions between the Sun's magnetic field and the disc of dust that formed our planets. But none of these hypotheses have fully accounted for the misalignment. But now the two new studies – [completely independent] from one another in the US and France – show that the existence of Planet Nine could explain the tilt.

Solar Obliquity Induced by Planet Nine

The inclination of the planetary system relative to the solar equator may be explained by the presence of Planet 9


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday July 26 2016, @05:48PM

    by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday July 26 2016, @05:48PM (#380376)

    People need to stop being so butthurt about something they have no skin in the game for.

    Who *would* have "skin in the game"? This argument doesn't work in academic contexts like this.

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  • (Score: 2) by Taibhsear on Tuesday July 26 2016, @08:42PM

    by Taibhsear (1464) on Tuesday July 26 2016, @08:42PM (#380434)

    My original post is referring to the comment that the people in the International Astronomical Union that reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet are idiots for doing so, which I disagree with. I am making the assumption that the poster was not, in fact, involved in the astronomical community nor a member in the IAU while discussing the definitions and/or the reclassification and thus would have no skin in the game as the result would have little to no impact on the person's life or work. Therefore their disdain for the IAU's decision is misplaced, misguided, uncalled for, and/or irrelevant.

    • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday July 26 2016, @09:20PM

      by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday July 26 2016, @09:20PM (#380453)

      Yes, I know what you're saying. I don't see how whether you call it a "planet" or "dwarf planet" has a significant impact on *anyone*, including scientists.

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      "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"