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Dwarf planet discovery hints at a hidden Super Earth in solar system
Guardian ^

Posted on 03/29/2014 1:03:08 AM PDT by chessplayer

Astronomers have increased the size of the observable solar system after spotting a 450-km wide object orbiting the sun.

The lump of ice and rock circles the sun at a greater distance than any known object, and never gets closer than 12bn kilometres – 80 times the distance from Earth to the sun.

If its size is confirmed it could qualify as a dwarf planet in the same category as Pluto.

Though exciting in its own right, the discovery raises a more tantalising prospect for many astronomers: that a "Super Earth" up to 10 times the mass of our planet orbits the sun at such a great distance that it has never been seen.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy
KEYWORDS: 2012vp113; catastrophism; dwarfplanet; kbo; minorplanet; pinkplanet; xplanets
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To: F15Eagle

The relatively new mapping program we see now at USGS is one that I do not like. The default settings seem different than before and appear to weed out this kind of situation-unless you adjust the settings yourself.


21 posted on 03/29/2014 2:58:32 AM PDT by John W (Viva Cristo Rey!)
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Comment #22 Removed by Moderator

To: Berlin_Freeper; SunkenCiv

Copied from DRUDGE.com.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-51-earthquake-causes-damage-some-flee-from-homes-20140329,0,522498.story#axzz2xLYb08tP

By Rong-Gong Lin II and Victoria Kim
March 29, 2014, 12:59 a.m.

Authorities were tallying damage from a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck Southern California Friday evening.

Fullerton police said early Saturday that up to 50 people had been displaced because of home damage.

The quake, centered near La Habra, caused furniture to tumble, pictures to fall off walls and glass to break. Merchandise fell off store shelves, and there were reports of plate glass windows shattered.

In Brea, several people suffered minor injuries during a rockslide that overturned their car. Fullerton reported seven water main breaks. Carbon Canyon Road was closed.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-51-earthquake-causes-damage-some-flee-from-homes-20140329,0,522498.story#ixzz2xLZ9UKlP


23 posted on 03/29/2014 3:36:44 AM PDT by Las Vegas Dave (The democRATic party preys on the ignorant..!)
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To: Las Vegas Dave; All

FYI: Earthquake map (current) for L.A.!

http://www.data.scec.org/recenteqs/Maps/Los_Angeles.html


24 posted on 03/29/2014 3:48:42 AM PDT by Las Vegas Dave (The democRATic party preys on the ignorant..!)
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To: F15Eagle

Switched the one I look at to “1 Day, All Magnitudes Worldwide” and it appears to be more of a swarm.


25 posted on 03/29/2014 4:12:20 AM PDT by John W (Viva Cristo Rey!)
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To: chessplayer

predicted decades ago in ‘the 12th planet’ by zacharias stichin (probably spelled wrong). he calls the big planet ‘marduk”


26 posted on 03/29/2014 4:25:51 AM PDT by camle (keep an open mind and someone will fill it full of something for you)
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To: chessplayer

There just isn’t much known about the Kuiper belt and beyond.

Personally I don’t think the discovery hints at any massive planet hidden out there. Its possible but not necessary.


27 posted on 03/29/2014 4:35:33 AM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: F15Eagle
check this interactive map

RSOE

28 posted on 03/29/2014 4:41:38 AM PDT by bigheadfred
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To: bigheadfred

! here


29 posted on 03/29/2014 5:12:39 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun..0'Caligula / 0'Reid / 0'Pelosi)
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To: chessplayer

Must stop solar system warming ......


30 posted on 03/29/2014 5:28:26 AM PDT by Usagi_yo (Journalticion -- journalist + politician. Used to be called propagandist.)
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To: chessplayer

“Though exciting in its own right, the discovery raises a more tantalising prospect for many astronomers: that a “Super Earth” up to 10 times the mass of our planet orbits the sun at such a great distance that it has never been seen.”

Sure it has been seen. It originated out of the author’s rear-end, along with the entire premise.

What else is possible now? Let’s see....why stop at 10x the mass of our planet? Since it has never been seen, let’s shoot for a rainbow-colored, unicorn-populated sister planet to gaia, one MILLION times the size of earth, but only visible when you get within 100 miles of its atmosphere.

Sure. That’s the ticket. Let’s make that a new “tantalizing prospect”.
Sheesh.


31 posted on 03/29/2014 5:34:02 AM PDT by ImaGraftedBranch (...By reading this, you've collapsed my wave function. Thanks.)
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To: chessplayer
Closest to the sun are the rocky planets, such as Venus, Earth and Mars.

Also known as Rocky, Rocky II, and Rocky III.

32 posted on 03/29/2014 5:37:24 AM PDT by GreenHornet
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Just adding, not pinging.
 
X-Planets
· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe ·
Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·

33 posted on 03/29/2014 6:20:42 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/alreadyposted/index)
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To: F15Eagle; Lazamataz
I see now he was referring to a Twitter bot, which hits everything.

This Twitter bot, is it named Laz?

34 posted on 03/29/2014 6:21:10 AM PDT by mountn man (The Pleasure You Get From Life Is Equal To The Attitude You Put Into It)
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To: bigheadfred

There’s a lot of dangerous “wins” in Louisiana.


35 posted on 03/29/2014 6:26:29 AM PDT by mountn man (The Pleasure You Get From Life Is Equal To The Attitude You Put Into It)
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To: bigheadfred

2.7 in Choctaw, Oklahoma! I hope gramma’s china is ok.


36 posted on 03/29/2014 6:32:08 AM PDT by Delta 21 (If you like your freedom, you can keep your freedom. Period.)
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To: InABunkerUnderSF

bttt


37 posted on 03/29/2014 6:35:42 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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To: Olog-hai

“Super-earth” is a reference to size — the suspected body is larger than Earth, but not the size of one of the gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).

Lots of people have had reason to suspect the existence of one, beginning with the discovery of Uranus (the planets up to and including Saturn have been known since ancient times).

For example, Harrington and Van Flandern calculated a planet 2 to 5 earth-masses was responsible for the disturbed Neptunian moon system; at the time they wrote that paper they also regarded Pluto as an escaped moon of Neptune.

Neptune’s variability from its ephemeris was a one-time event, and led to the search for and discovery of Pluto. Pluto turned out to be too small to account for the disturbance of Neptune, so the search for an unknown has continued. Tombaugh himself surveyed the ecliptic for years after his discovery of Pluto, and was convinced that nothing was there down to something like 12th magnitude.

Pluto’s discovery was a very lucky break, because it’s inclined out of the ecliptic, as are most of the so-called KBOs (my guess is, the Kuiper Belt Object nomenclature will be abandoned in time, at least as applied to these ‘dwarf planets’).

I think there was at least one pre-discovery observation of Pluto found in a survey of older observations (iow, it got missed by someone; the practice of looking for pre-discovery observations helps in determining the orbit of the object with greater precision). Galileo is known to have observed Neptune and not realized it, and some believe that he actually knew it but never got credit for it.

http://www.space.com/6941-theory-galileo-discovered-neptune.html


38 posted on 03/29/2014 6:36:22 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/alreadyposted/index)
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To: John W

Being back the aftershock prediction page too!


39 posted on 03/29/2014 6:36:41 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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More about Nemesis from the FRchives:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1962278/replies?c=46

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1670395/replies?c=81

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2188731/replies?c=43


40 posted on 03/29/2014 6:40:40 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/alreadyposted/index)
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