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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNo, Planet Nine Will Not Send a Wave of Earth-Destroying Comets to Kill Us All
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/04/11/fear_mongering_articles_claim_planet_nine_might_kill_us_all.html"...
Quite a few people on Twitter and Facebook pointed out this one to me. The guilty party is an article in the U.K. tabloid fish-wrappery the Sun posted on Wednesday. It had this breathless (and grossly ridiculous) headline: Mysterious Planet Wiped Out Life on Earth Once and Could Do It Again THIS MONTH.
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First, Planet Nine has not been discovered. At best, astronomers Batygin and Brown found indirect evidence for the existence of a massive planet out past Neptune (as have other astronomers before them). Its pretty interesting evidence, even compelling, but does not yet add up to a discovery.
Second, Daniel Whitmire does not make the claim that the planet (if it exists) causes extinction events. In a recent paper, he does a bit of math showing that the existence of a trans-Neptunian planet is consistent with the idea of periodic showers of comets raining down on Earth (more on this in a moment), but he does not claim it actually does this. Im also not sure the planet he hypothesizes is consistent with the evidence presented by Batygin and Brown; some of the orbital and planetary characteristics are similar, others arent.
Third, he doesnt say it killed all life on Earth, because that would be really, really dumb. Mass extinctions dont kill all life on Earth, or else we wouldnt be here. They kill many, even most, species, but not all. Im not nitpicking; in an article apparently designed to instill fear, phrasing like that is important.
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You do have to read the whole thing. It's awesome!
Orrex
(63,224 posts)redgreenandblue
(2,088 posts)Mysterious Planet Wiped Out Life on Earth Once and Could Do It Again THIS MONTH.
Awesome show.
Warpy
(111,339 posts)and they've just about ruled out anything else, including the perennial favorite of the black hole that's coming to eat us.
Even if it exists and sends showers of comets our way, they'd take a bloody long time to get here. If the human race can avoid blowing itself to hell by then, chances are we'd have a way to deflect them. Blowing ourselves to hell is the greater danger, in any case.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)We are doing dandy with the Sixth mass extinction
Rex
(65,616 posts)We know the Secret Society of Voles paid you off handsomely. They probably had Space Elvis and Bigfoot (ever notice how Bigfoot isn't called Space Bigfoot - he just appears there somehow next to Elvis in the space ship) on it now, setting up Planet 9 (using super science!) from deep outer space - to hit earth during the Winter Solstice of 2012...er...2021.
I will inform Alex Jones so he may get a head start on chewing threw his restraint straps! Help him Batboy, you're my only hope!
RedCloud
(9,230 posts)A star will pass within one light year of our star. Since our solar system is now three light years across this spells trouble. And it does not even consider if said star brings its own solar system which could then... well ...
tkmorris
(11,138 posts)What on Earth are you talking about? Are you proposing a hypothetical? It sounds like you are stating this as a fact, and if so I'd REALLY like to know who is spreading such nonsense.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)Some woontaics think there's a brown dwarf floating around transneptunian space hurling comets and asteroids at Earth.
NickB79
(19,258 posts)From the Sun to the Kuiper Belt, you're looking at 7.5 billion miles. So, diameter of Sol system is 15 billion miles.
A light year is 5.88 TRILLION miles. So, our solar system is roughly 0.002 light years in diameter.
0rganism
(23,970 posts)sarisataka
(18,770 posts)Enhanced zoom image
2naSalit
(86,775 posts)It's the Death Star! and Darth is coming to eat us!
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)That's Mimas. The huge crater is Herschel.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)It's been a few decades since that science project in Junior High. One of my favorites actually.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)OxQQme
(2,550 posts)hatrack
(59,592 posts)Sheesh, get a life, little world!
TeamPooka
(24,254 posts)Iggo
(47,565 posts)roamer65
(36,747 posts)Buns_of_Fire
(17,194 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Somebody let Speaker Ryan know; he seems to think the House doesn't have anything to do for the rest of the year.
Dr. Strange
(25,923 posts)Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Where's my Solaranite?
tymorial
(3,433 posts)I only have 3 more payments and my car is paid off.