An invisible star may be circling the Sun and causing deadly comets to bombard the Earth.
LONDON: In what sounds like a chilling script of a Hollywood science fiction, scientists have claimed that an invisible star, five times the size of Jupiter, might be lurking near our solar system, occasionally kicking deadly comets towards the Earth.
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| According to NASA scientists, the brown dwarf star is up to five times the size of Jupiter and could be responsible for mass extinctions that occur on Earth every 26 million years. |
The brown dwarf – up to five times the size of Jupiter – could be to blame for mass extinctions that occur here every 26 million years.
The star – nicknamed Nemesis by Nasa scientists – would be invisible as it only emits infrared light and is incredibly distant.
Nemesis is believed to orbit our solar system at 25,000 times the distance of the Earth to the Sun.
As it spins through the galaxy, its gravitational pull drags icy bodies out of the Oort Cloud – a vast sphere of rock and dust twice as far away as Nemesis.These “snowballs” are thrown towards Earth as comets, causing devastation similar to the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. …
The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer – expected to find a thousand brown dwarfs within 25 light years of the Sun – has already sent back a photo of a comet possibly dislodged from the Oort Cloud.
Scientists’ first clue to the existence of Nemesis was the bizarre orbit of a dwarf planet called Sedna. …
Mike Brown, who discovered Sedna in 2003, said: “Sedna is a very odd object – it shouldn’t be there.
“The only way to get on an eccentric orbit is to have some giant body kick you – so what is out there?”
Professor John Matese, of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said most comets come from the same part of the Oort Cloud.
He added: “There is statistically significant evidence that this concentration of comets could be caused by a companion to the Sun.”
The smaller object in these two photos is a brown dwarf that orbits the star Gliese 229.
Located in the constellation Lepus and about 19 light years from Earth,
the brown dwarf Gliese 229B is about 20 to 50 times the mass of Jupiter.
Image credit: NASA
A recently-discovered dwarf planet, named Sedna, has an extra-long and usual elliptical orbit around the Sun.
Sedna is one of the most distant objects yet observed, with an orbit ranging between 76 and 975 AU (1 AU = distance between the Earth and the Sun). Sedna’s orbit is estimated to last between 10.5 to 12 thousand years.
Sedna’s discoverer, Mike Brown of Caltech, noted in a Discover magazine article that Sedna’s location doesn’t make sense.
"Sedna shouldn't be there,” said Brown. “There's no way to put Sedna where it is. It never comes close enough to be affected by the Sun, but it never goes far enough away from the Sun to be affected by other stars.”
Perhaps a massive unseen object is responsible for Sedna’s mystifying orbit, its gravitational influence keeping Sedna fixed in that far-distant portion of space.
“My surveys have always looked for objects closer and thus moving faster,” Brown told Astrobiology Magazine. “I would have easily overlooked something so distant and slow moving as Nemesis.”
John Matese, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, suspects Nemesis exists for another reason.
The comets in the inner solar system seem to mostly come from the same region of the Oort Cloud, and Matese thinks the gravitational influence of a solar companion is disrupting that part of the cloud, scattering comets in its wake. His calculations suggest Nemesis is between 3 to 5 times the mass of Jupiter, rather than the 13 Jupiter masses or greater that some scientists think is a necessary quality of a brown dwarf.
Even at this smaller mass, however, many astronomers would still classify it as a low mass star rather than a planet, since the circumstances of birth for stars and planets differ.
The “New Object” labeled in this image is Sedna,
a dwarf planet with a 12,000-year orbit around the Sun.
It’s a mystery why Sedna has such an elongated orbit.
The Oort Cloud is thought to extend about 1 light year from the Sun.
Matese estimates Nemesis is 25,000 AU away (or about one-third of a light year). The next-closest known star to the Sun is Proxima Centauri, located 4.2 light years away.
Richard Muller of the University of California Berkeley first suggested the Nemesis theory, and even wrote a popular science book on the topic. He thinks Nemesis is a red dwarf star 1.5 light years away. Many scientists counter that such a wide orbit is inherently unstable and could not have lasted long - certainly not long enough to have caused the extinctions seen in Earth’s fossil record.
Richard Muller of the University of California Berkeley first suggested the Nemesis theory, and even wrote a popular science book on the topic. He thinks Nemesis is a red dwarf star 1.5 light years away. Many scientists counter that such a wide orbit is inherently unstable and could not have lasted long - certainly not long enough to have caused the extinctions seen in Earth’s fossil record.
But Muller says this instability has resulted in an orbit that has changed greatly over billions of years, and in the next billion years Nemesis will be thrown free of the solar system.
Binary star systems are common in the galaxy. It is estimated that one-third of the stars in the Milky Way are either binary or part of a multiple-star system.
Binary star systems are common in the galaxy. It is estimated that one-third of the stars in the Milky Way are either binary or part of a multiple-star system.
Red and brown dwarfs are smaller and cooler than our Sun, and do not shine brightly.
If red dwarfs can be compared to the red embers of a dying fire, then brown dwarfs would be the smoldering ash. Because they are so dim, it is plausible that the Sun could have a secret companion even though we’ve searched the sky for many years with a variety of instruments.
NASA’s newest telescope, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), may be able to answer the question about Nemesis once and for all.
NASA’s newest telescope, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), may be able to answer the question about Nemesis once and for all.
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Show name: Reflections in the Dark - Beyond Planet X| Host Name: | The Porch |
| Date / Length: | - 2 hrs 2 min http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-porch/2011/03/20/reflections-in-the-dark--beyond-planet-x |
| Description: h:130415 s:1563273 | |
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Watching for the Signs
[Luke 21:24-28]
24They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Abiding in the Shadow of the Almighty
[Psalm 91]
91He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide [1] under the shadow of the Almighty.2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: [2] the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long [3] life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: [2] the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long [3] life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Anti-Aging: Turn the Clock Back!
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