New massive planet may exist on the outer reaches of our solar system

[Viking350]

But what I found more interesting in this article is the fact that astronomers nicknamed a recently discovered dwarf planet Biden.

http://theweek.com/article/index/258846/speedreads-astronomers-may-have-discovered-an-enormous-new-planet-at-the-edge-of-the-solar-system

[El Jefe]

But what I found more interesting in this article is the fact that astronomers nicknamed a recently discovered dwarf planet Biden.

http://theweek.com/article/index/258846/speedreads-astronomers-may-have-discovered-an-enormous-new-planet-at-the-edge-of-the-solar-system

Yeah, I ran across this news earlier. But why your source is calling it massive, is odd and misleading. Its actually pretty small. (?)

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/pakistanafghanistan/277465/new-planet-found-in-solar-system

[Viking350]

Yeah, I ran across this news earlier. But why your source is calling it massive, is odd and misleading. Its actually pretty small. (?)

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/pakistanafghanistan/277465/new-planet-found-in-solar-system

The smaller planet (Biden) is exhibiting orbital characteristics that suggest another body 2 to 10 times larger than the Earth.

[Kadmos]

But what I found more interesting in this article is the fact that astronomers nicknamed a recently discovered dwarf planet Biden.

http://theweek.com/article/index/258846/speedreads-astronomers-may-have-discovered-an-enormous-new-planet-at-the-edge-of-the-solar-system

Interesting.

Seems like the Biden thing is probably just because of the the VP designation, the designation just tells the time of year of discovery, and the order the object was discovered.

So "V" is the first part of November and "P" along with the subscript gives you the order in which the object was found during that time frame.

The system has become a bit obnoxious, because nowadays you get subscripts like "113" which doesn't mean it was the 113th object found, but that the second letter system has actually cycled through 113 times.

to it comes to 113 times 25 (they don't use the letter "I") which makes it the 2825th object found, plus 15 to get to the letter "P"

So the designation means that in the first 2 weeks of November of 2012 this object was the 2840th object discovered.

Meaning there were 2839 other objects (at least) they could have nicknamed "Biden"

[l921428x]

The smaller planet (Biden) is exhibiting orbital characteristics that suggest another body 2 to 10 times larger than the Earth.

10 times larger than the earth is still small.

http://www.maniacworld.com/size-of-the-stars.html

The sound is a little annoying, but the visual is the key.

[studmuffin]

It's called biden because it orbits backwards and wags it's head.

[Viking350]

Interesting.

Seems like the Biden thing is probably just because of the the VP designation, the designation just tells the time of year of discovery, and the order the object was discovered.

So "V" is the first part of November and "P" along with the subscript gives you the order in which the object was found during that time frame.

The system has become a bit obnoxious, because nowadays you get subscripts like "113" which doesn't mean it was the 113th object found, but that the second letter system has actually cycled through 113 times.

to it comes to 113 times 25 (they don't use the letter "I") which makes it the 2825th object found, plus 15 to get to the letter "P"

So the designation means that in the first 2 weeks of November of 2012 this object was the 2840th object discovered.

Meaning there were 2839 other objects (at least) they could have nicknamed "Biden"

Gee, thanks for that clarification. I figured they named the dwarf planet Biden because he has small balls.

[Kadmos]

Gee, thanks for that clarification. I figured they named the dwarf planet Biden because he has small balls.

No problem.

By the way...how do you know the size of Biden's balls? ;)

[stinker]

Once upon a time, we had a planet called Pluto on the outer edges of our solar system and they basically threw it away and for no good reason choose to not call it a planet anymore. Now we spent gazillions of dollars and get excited because suddenly we have a planet on the outer edges of our solar system again thereby justifying the unquestioned spending of gazillions of dollars to study it?

That's government spending at it's finest for ya right there bubba. :thumbspbig:

I'll laugh my ass off if it turns out to be hollow inside with the name "Biden" on it...

[Viking350]

No problem.

By the way...how do you know the size of Biden's balls? ;)

He has to have small balls. After all he is a gun hating, liberal douchocrat.

[El Jefe]

He has to have small balls. After all he is a gun hating, liberal douchocrat.

You talking about Biden or Kadmos?

[was_peacemaker]

Once upon a time, we had a planet called Pluto on the outer edges of our solar system and they basically threw it away and for no good reason choose to not call it a planet anymore. Now we spent gazillions of dollars and get excited because suddenly we have a planet on the outer edges of our solar system again thereby justifying the unquestioned spending of gazillions of dollars to study it?

That's government spending at it's finest for ya right there bubba. :thumbspbig:

I'll laugh my ass off if it turns out to be hollow inside with the name "Biden" on it...

I never did understand why they ditched Pluto.

[miketx]

I never did understand why they ditched Pluto.

They think there may be guns there.

[was_peacemaker]

They think there may be guns there.

Bwhahaha...

[Kadmos]

I never did understand why they ditched Pluto.

Every time we got a better measurement of Pluto it was found to be smaller than we thought.

Originally we thought it was the same size as Earth, then 1/10th the size, then 1/100th the size....by 1980 we measured it at about 1/500th the size of Earth.

Which we finally decided was accurate to within a few percent in 2005. By then we realized that there is a object bigger than it (Eris) at around the same distance and it became silly to say it was the 9th planet.

So now it's considered to be the first of the Plutoids that we've discovered

[FunkyPertwee]

Here is an artists rendition of the view of Charon from the surface of Pluto:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Charon_2.jpg


And the orbital path of both:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Pluto-Charon_System.gif


And a size comparison:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/EightTNOs.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto

[was_peacemaker]

Here is an artists rendition of the view of Charon from the surface of Pluto:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Charon_2.jpg


And the orbital path of both:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Pluto-Charon_System.gif


And a size comparison:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/EightTNOs.png

That is some cool stuff there. Question?

In the orbital pattern you notice it's always extreme from where the sun is. Like it never comes around when the sun could be the closest to it. Are all the planets that way?

[l921428x]

I never did understand why they ditched Pluto.



http://i1.cpcache.com/product/71615415/i_miss_pluto_solar_system_on_black.jpg?height=225&width=225

[l921428x]

Every time we got a better measurement of Pluto it was found to be smaller than we thought.

Originally we thought it was the same size as Earth, then 1/10th the size, then 1/100th the size....by 1980 we measured it at about 1/500th the size of Earth.

Which we finally decided was accurate to within a few percent in 2005. By then we realized that there is a object bigger than it (Eris) at around the same distance and it became silly to say it was the 9th planet.

So now it's considered to be the first of the Plutoids that we've discovered

I may be wrong but I think it also had to do with the orbit also as Pluto was running at almost a 40 degree orbit to the Sun.

[1 Patriot-of-many]

You talking about Biden or Kadmos? Both?

[El Jefe]

Both?

Yes.

[Krupski]

Gee, thanks for that clarification. I figured they named the dwarf planet Biden because he has small balls.


No problem.

By the way...how do you know the size of Biden's balls? ;)

I wondered the same thing......:think:

[Krupski]

They think there may be guns there.Shhh....... dammit now they know!

[Krupski]

And the orbital path of both:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Pluto-Charon_System.gif




Excellent diagram explaining the barycenter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barycentric_coordinates_%28astronomy%29) of objects orbiting each other.

[FunkyPertwee]

Excellent diagram explaining the barycenter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barycentric_coordinates_%28astronomy%29) of objects orbiting each other.

I've always been fascinated by the orbit of Pluto's moon.

I can imagine a ladder connecting the two surfaces, and being able to climb from one to another, having to turn around part way there as the gravity changes.

Obviously a person couldn't really climb that, but the fact that the same two points on either surface are always in allignment is pretty amazing to me. The harmony of our solar system is just more evidence of God's existence IMO.

[Krupski]

I've always been fascinated by the orbit of Pluto's moon.

I can imagine a ladder connecting the two surfaces, and being able to climb from one to another, having to turn around part way there as the gravity changes.

Obviously a person couldn't really climb that, but the fact that the same two points on either surface are always in allignment is pretty amazing to me. The harmony of our solar system is just more evidence of God's existence IMO.

Not according to our resident "scientist" :)

[jojo]

This thread is beginning to make me dizzy

[mrkalashnikov]

For some reason as I get older I don't like to ponder on such things.

When I was young I had a telescope and loved to look at the stars & planets & wonder in awe at the celestial clockwork we live in.

Now, it just seems to remind me of my own mortality & the insignificance of our part in it all.

[Kadmos]

For some reason as I get older I don't like to ponder on such things.

When I was young I had a telescope and loved to look at the stars & planets & wonder in awe at the celestial clockwork we live in.

Now, it just seems to remind me of my own mortality & the insignificance of our part in it all.

Way to lighten the mood there ;)

Yes yes, we're all going to die, dust in the wind, tiny specks huddled on a tiny speck of floating rock in a tiny speck of a galaxy on the edge of nowhere which will eventually be completely obliterated when it collides with another tiny speck of a different insignificant galaxy that will also be obliterated, an act that the universe as a whole will barely even notice, if at all.

OMG did you see what Kim was wearing on the Red Carpet!!?! ;)

[Helen Keller]

Kim Jong Un ???

[Kadmos]

Kim Jong Un ???

Beats me, I just picked a name

[davepool]

For some reason as I get older I don't like to ponder on such things.

When I was young I had a telescope and loved to look at the stars & planets & wonder in awe at the celestial clockwork we live in.

Now, it just seems to remind me of my own mortality & the insignificance of our part in it all.

Yea, i'm starting to to get that " downhill slide into the grave" frame of mind myself lately.

And no Kadmos, i did'nt see what Kim was wearing on the red carpet...could you see her boobies?

[l921428x]

Let me just say. Some WILL die before others and the rest will watch the speck float away.:wink:

[mrkalashnikov]

Way to lighten the mood there ;)

Yes yes, we're all going to die, dust in the wind, tiny specks huddled on a tiny speck of floating rock in a tiny speck of a galaxy on the edge of nowhere which will eventually be completely obliterated when it collides with another tiny speck of a different insignificant galaxy that will also be obliterated, an act that the universe as a whole will barely even notice, if at all.


I admit I was in a bit of a dark mood last evening, but you managed to one-up me on the D&G scale there. :biggrina:

[Krupski]

For some reason as I get older I don't like to ponder on such things.

When I was young I had a telescope and loved to look at the stars & planets & wonder in awe at the celestial clockwork we live in.

Now, it just seems to remind me of my own mortality & the insignificance of our part in it all.

The older I get, the less I have to lose.

[coppertales]

No problem.

By the way...how do you know the size of Biden's balls? ;)

I didn't think Biden had any balls since he acts like a pussy all the time....................................chris3