Comments on: Kuiper Belt Object Travelling the Wrong-Way in a One-Way Solar System

By: marcellus

marcellus — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:02:49 +0000

Well put, Dutch.

By: Dutch Delight

Dutch Delight — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:59:13 +0000

I don't see why it couldn't be an interstellar object in principle, but for now, the most likely origin is as stated, because of the orbit the object is in.

I would guess that an interstellar object that managed to get into a stable orbit around our star would be in far wider elliptical orbit then Drac.

By: marcellus

marcellus — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:45:23 +0000

Could Drac have an interstellar origin?

By: Mang

Mang — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:25:42 +0000

Another good name would have been "Corrigan"

After Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Corrigan

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:52:21 +0000

Are we so short sighted to not think that it's was in the same plane as other Kuiper belt objets and got thumped by one and changed it's plane and direction of orbit?

By: Ian O'Neill

Ian O'Neill — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:57:08 +0000

Ah yes, but if it originated from the Kuiper Belt (which orbits the Sun in the plane of the Solar System), Drac would have needed one hell of a whack to make it orbit at such an extreme inclination. This is why they think it might have originated from a location away from the ecliptic

Cheers, Ian

By: Extrasolar Flapjacks

Extrasolar Flapjacks — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:45:43 +0000

Thats not too surprising. Gravity doesn'y level things into one plane.