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Constraining the Orbits of Planet X and Nemesis

by Ian O'Neill on April 15, 2009

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Artists impression of the hypothetical star, Nemesis (Wikipedia)

Artists impression of the hypothetical star, Nemesis (Wikipedia)

If Planet X was out there, where would it be? This question posed by an Italian researcher turns out to be a lot more involved than you’d think. As opposed to all the 2012 idiocy hype flying around on the internet, this research is actually based on a little thing called science. By analysing the orbital precession of all the inner-Solar System planets, the researcher has been able to constrain the minimum distance a hypothetical object, from the mass of Mars to the mass of the Sun, could be located in the Solar System. As most of the astronomical community already knows, the two purveyors of doom (Planet X and the Sun’s evil twin, Nemesis) exist only in the over-active imaginations of a few misinformed individuals, not in reality…

Planet X and Nemesis are hypothetical objects with more grounding in ancient prophecy and doomsday theories based on pseudo-science. This might be the case, but Planet X came from far more rational beginnings.

The name “Planet X” was actually coined by Percival Lowell at the start of the 20th century when he predicted there might be a massive planet beyond the orbit of Neptune. Then, in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh appeared to confirm Lowell’s theory; a planet had been discovered and it was promptly named Pluto. However, as time went on, it slowly became apparent that Pluto wasn’t massive enough to explain the original observations of the perturbations of Uranus’ orbit (the reason for Lowell’s Planet X prediction in the first place). By the 1970′s and 80′s modern observation techniques proved that the original perturbations in Uranus’ orbit were measurement error and not being caused by a massive planetary body. The hunt for Planet X pretty much ended with the discovery of Pluto in 1930, but it never lived up to its promise as a massive planetary body (despite what the woefully erroneous doomsday theories say otherwise).

Now an Italian researcher has published results from a study that examines the orbital dynamics of the inner-Solar System planets, and relates them to the gravitational influence of a massive planetary body orbiting the Sun from afar.

To cut a long story short, if a massive planetary body or a small binary sibling of the Sun were close to us, we would notice their gravitational influence in the orbital dynamics of the planets. There may be some indirect indications that a small planetary body might be shaping the Kuiper Cliff, and that a binary partner of the Sun might be disturbing the Oort Cloud every 25 million years or so (relating to the cyclical mass extinctions in Earth’s history, possibly caused by comet impacts), but hard astronomical proof has yet to be found.

Lorenzo Iorio from the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Pisa (Italy) has taken orbital data from many years of precise observations and used his computations to predict the closest possible distance at which a massive planet could orbit if it was out there.

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It turns out that all the planets the mass of Mars and above have been discovered within the Solar System. Iorio computes that the minimum possible distances at which a Mars-mass, Earth-mass, Jupiter-mass and Sun-mass object can orbit around the Sun are 62 AU, 430 AU, 886 AU and 8995 AU respectively. To put this into perspective, Pluto orbits the Sun at an average distance of 39 AU.

So if we used our imaginations a bit, we could say that a sufficiently sized Planet X could be patrolling a snail-paced orbit somewhere beyond Pluto. But there’s an additional problem for Planet X conspiracy theorists. If there was any object of sufficient size (and by “sufficient” I mean Pluto-mass, I’m being generous), according to a 2004 publication by David Jewitt, from the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, we would have observed such an object by now if it orbited within 320 AU from the Sun.

Suddenly, the suggestion that Planet X will be making an appearance in 2012 and the crazy idea that anything larger than a Pluto-sized object is currently 75 AU away seems silly. Sorry, between here and a few hundred AU away, it’s just us, the known planets and a load of asteroids (and perhaps the odd plutino) for company.

Source: arXiv, Astroengine.com

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[Check out my space blog: Astroengine.com]

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Hello! My name is Ian O'Neill and I've been writing for the Universe Today since December 2007. I am a solar physics doctor, but my space interests are wide-ranging. Since becoming a science writer I have been drawn to the more extreme astrophysics concepts (like black hole dynamics), high energy physics (getting excited about the LHC!) and general space colonization efforts. I am also heavily involved with the Mars Homestead project (run by the Mars Foundation), an international organization to advance our settlement concepts on Mars. I also run my own space physics blog: Astroengine.com, be sure to check it out!

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  • Olaf

    Continued…

    Ok let’s assume that the Mayans were that smart that they could predict Nibiru… And that Nibiru magically aligned all our 8 planets in our solar system and put them in a near spherical orbit last time it got here.

    The probem is this, the planet Nibiru will influence all orbits of our solar system including Earth and all solar planets will change the orbit of Nibiru. Tis is how gravity works, it all amss inflences all other mass!

    So did the Mayan calender take this into account, that some periods of Earth has 281 days per year and Nibiru lets say 1500, and the next orbit Earths orbital period is 390 days/year and Nibiru maybe 1436???

    Ah yes Niboru is too light to influence Earths orbit, from distance, but then again you still have the orbit change of Niburu by all other planets so Nibru will not have a constant 1500 period but will range 1450, 1700, 1750 after every close encounter of our solar system (yes gravity assist!!! of all other planets!) Is there any evidence of the Mayan calender that it is dynamic? Does the Mayan calender have none-fixed calender periods?
    Did the Mayans move their 3000 old
    building that marks the position in the heavens after the next transition to make sure that everything is aligned again?

    What about the theory of the Mayans were perfect astronomers? Do you really believe that the end of the Mayan cycle will end on an astronomical none-interesting date like 21 12 2012 where the moon and none of the planets not even the center of the sun is aligned to something astronomical interesting? Just look at the positions of the moon and the solar system, astronomically no interesting position.

    Basically, could something happen on 21 dec 2012? Yes some religious nut believing that the end is near could push the nulcear buttons starting a global nuclear war.

    But it won’t be something called Nibru because every evidence points to the fact that there is nothing our there that descirbes a planet like Nibiru!

  • Olaf

    I am interesting in a video clip, maybe put on youtube from Pavel Smutny, that actually shows his simulation where he can clearly show that his simulation let a planet like Nibiru passes through our solar system that is 20 jupiter sizes, that clearly shows that all our solar planets stay in their near circular orbit and stay in their same eleptic plane without change of orbital period, especially Earth that has this 365.25 year orbital period before and after Nibiru has passed and still gets in time to Nemisis just in time to get sent back to Earth again with an extreme eccentric orbit.

    I don’t want to see one complete orbit I want to seen 10 orbits of Nibiru.

    Yes I do believe that Pavel Smutny can simulate a solar system with pretty stable orbit of all planets because of resonence factors, and NO I DO NOT believe that this simulated solar system will look exactly like our solar system!

    The solar system that Pavel will have is a solar system where none of the planets are aligned in a plane and none of the planets will have a near circular orbit just like our solar system has. Especially not after 10 passes of Nibiru!

    If you people still believe after all this evidence I have posted that Nibiru is out there, then you deserve to be scared all day long and hide in caves and give all your money to con artists that ride the wave of fear to get rid of your money by offering you some magic brick.

  • Anjela

    I too wish to comment on this article, however from a purely common sense side and then a business side of things. You see it does not take a rocket scientist to understand that no one likes being made fun of and your remarks regarding stupidity had nothing whatsoever to do with the people trying to make a buck on those stupid and naive people. No it was directed at your readers. Now who is the more stupid one? I submit it would be youand not the readers that you have likely forever lost due to your rather lacking sense of business, understanding and class.

    I think the comments section proves conclusively, that what is being circulated on the net regarding this doomsday scenario, is far more rational and based in some pretty real information (valid or devised) and that you have opened your arse to speak in this article.

    You know, the sad thing about all this is simply that it shows just how desperate this world is for truth. We have been without honest integrity and open governments for so damn long that we become amateur investigators ourselves. Think about it for a second… we have paid for a space program in our tax dollars since its inception,yet we continually get back photographs that are blurry and airbrushed? Oh no worries, we did not notice that. Never mind that we are all fully aware that some pictures are magically brilliant and crisp and sharp resolution, just by accident, I am sure why the ones we want to see are blurred and altered.

    Bottom line, sir is that people are sick and tired of being called stupid and to be honest its not as if it were their faults even if what you said about them was close to being true.. If people in the media and governments and elite would allow them to know what the heck is really going on then, maybe you would only need to show your lack of tact and insult your own readers once a year. LOL Even I know better than that!!

    I do agree with you though on your stand against the people trying to profit by taking advantage of the fears of others. However, only if this has been done with intent . I don’t feel this is the case with all of these people. Clearly there is more than 5 ancient cultures that have something to say about this period of time and we are seeing serious UFO appearing non stop and increasingly, as well as some lower ranges in the electromagnetic frequency and heating in several planets within our solar system. I think there is more than enough going on here to cause an average, kept in the dark person, to remain in an alerted state.

    Case in point.. Seti has been listening for UFOs now for how long?? LOL Yet we get hundreds of sitings a day around the planet. Oops perhaps they were on a break and missed them ? There is so much BS liars and power hungry people its just becoming part of life to ignore them. We need to do something for each other , certainly calling people stupid is not going in the right direction. The stupid one here is a very debatable issue. NO OFFENSE.! Seriously, said it cause you needed to hear it that’s all.

  • Anjela

    I too wish to comment on this article, however from a purely common sense side and then a business side of things. You see it does not take a rocket scientist to understand that no one likes being made fun of.Secondly, your remarks regarding stupidity had nothing whatsoever to do with the people trying to make a buck on those stupid and naive people. No it was directed at your readers. Now who is the more stupid one? I submit it would be you and not the readers that you have likely forever lost due to your rather lacking sense of business, understanding and class.

    I think the comments section proves conclusively, that what is being circulated on the net regarding this doomsday scenario, is far more rational and based in some pretty real information (valid or devised) and that you have opened your arse to speak in this article.

    You know, the sad thing about all this is simply that it shows just how desperate this world is for truth. We have been without honest integrity and open governments for so damn long that we become amateur investigators ourselves. Think about it for a second… we have paid for a space program in our tax dollars since its inception,yet we continually get back photographs that are blurry and airbrushed? Oh no worries, we did not notice that. Never mind that we are all fully aware that some pictures are magically brilliant and crisp and sharp resolution, just by accident, I am sure why the ones we want to see are blurred and altered.

    Bottom line, sir is that people are sick and tired of being called stupid and to be honest its not as if it were their faults even if what you said about them was close to being true.. If people in the media and governments and elite would allow them to know what the heck is really going on then, maybe you would only need to show your lack of tact and insult your own readers once a year. LOL Even I know better than that!!

    I do agree with you though on your stand against the people trying to profit by taking advantage of the fears of others. However, only if this has been done with intent . I don’t feel this is the case with all of these people. Clearly there is more than 5 ancient cultures that have something to say about this period of time and we are seeing serious UFO appearing non stop and increasingly, as well as some lower ranges in the electromagnetic frequency and heating in several planets within our solar system. I think there is more than enough going on here to cause an average, kept in the dark person, to remain in an alerted state.

    Case in point.. Seti has been listening for UFOs now for how long?? LOL Yet we get hundreds of sitings a day around the planet. Oops perhaps they were on a break and missed them ? There is so much BS liars and power hungry people its just becoming part of life to ignore them. We need to do something for each other , certainly calling people stupid is not going in the right direction. The stupid one here is a very debatable issue. NO OFFENSE.! Seriously, said it cause you needed to hear it that’s all.

  • yourmomsnutz

    Great thanks!!

    more real than most think!!!!!!

    PLANET X THE REAL CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING.2009

    http://www.mininova.org/tor/2503356

  • JustinnitsuL

    Listen the universe is just a giant version of an atom. Material surrounded by energy bound to a center point of something we haven’t figured out yet. One should assume that the universe is a giant sphere where the surface is near equidistance from the center point. Surrounding the universe is a nutrino enrgy field that is probably very similar to the same thing that is in the center point holding it all together. Energy flows from and back to the center point. Within space there are Megagalaxies, combined galaxies, combining galaxies, singular galaxies, star clusters, star groupings, star pairings, and single stars. The same can be said for material in space. Out there somewhere there could be a huge system of planets, then planet groupings, planetarty pairs, singular planets, moons, astroids and meteors, meteorites, space rocks, and space dust. You should feel extremely priveleged to be alloud to exist as a singular creature in pairs, in groups, in crouds, in masses, in an entire species. So say what you will about the 2012 theories, but if you follow the true meaning than it is not the end but the beginning of something new. There have been verified reports that seemingly intelligent frequencies have originated from the center of the galaxy. Although they are unknown they are sequenced in a way that almost seems like a signal. Who knows what that means but I assure you that there is no mythology about to occur only factology. We are not alone, we have been wrong before, people who came up with what we know today were considered crack pots to begin with, and now even their supposed LAW’s are having to be modified as a result of new discoveries. All you people need to know is that something spectacular is coming. We are teetering on the brink of destruction and the greatest discoveries. It is up to us as individuals to change so the group may change so the species may change. You all know in the back of your minds what must be done but allow yourselves to be consumed with trivial thoughts, emotions, fears, pride, ignorance, greed, envy, and so on. So let it be known that we decide our fate collectively. God is the function of the supreme rule; everything is connected, infinity is zero, and everything, no matter what, eventually makes it back to the source. If we are smart enough than we can return as individuals rather than a bunch of dust and loose energy. Think about it. You 2012 people are so worried about a mistaken prophecy of destruction that you are blind to see that you are causing it. 2012 is when you are all supposed to wake up from primitive thought and join us in our quest to know. Or we can get started early. You all can thank me later.

  • aspaceyguy

    So very well said.
    …and as we enter this described Age of Aquarius, isn’t it most interesting to see the trickle trickle of stories weekly at a site like this, pointing to and revealing anew, the presence of water. Water, just about everywhere. From Ceres to Europa to the water geysers on Enceladus to headlines like “Oldest and Most Distant Water in the Universe Detected” from just yesterday(April 22nd), the pattern and theme is becoming clear. Oh yes, even the day before that with “Nearly Earth-sized Planet, Possible Watery World Spotted Near Another Star”.

    Between the mystics and the astronomers, there was never any ‘difference’. They were one in the same. Ever notice how in recent times the language of ‘terms’ being used more and more describe a universe alive. Watch the terminology, it is not trivial and much of it these days speaks of ‘star births’ and ‘galaxy zoo’ and seasons described on Mars etc. and relationships between celestial bodies and galaxies.

    As the much loved and respected ‘insider’ Bob Dean once said about disclosure, “How do you possibly tell humanity they are living in the finest Zoo in the Galaxy?!”

    So we come this seemingly important time/transition for humanity, and my gosh the wonderment of life grows each week as they roll out new stories for us of a universe that is dynamic and filled with ‘relationships’, and complex organics and water and perhaps so much more.

    ET’s? or just other humanic forms of consciousness?
    I’m ok with any of that, as I have thought all along that it is the ultimate hubris and outstanding stupidity to think we are alone and that space was some barren cold wasteland of nothingness as has been the myth for so many years. The egoic arrogance is simply astonishing.
    Now is the time for the folks who know, to now attempt to gently unravel that awful mess and share with their fellow people, the truth of this wonderful universe we are ‘soaking in’ (get it! lol-water joke).

    Let humanity move forward, not separated, but together with a measure of clarity. I am just echoing JustinnitsuL from the post above in some ways, but I agree the species must learn to navigate together and steer with a focused collective intent.
    Velocity with veracity.

  • Tenshu

    JustinnitsuL, aspaceyguy you two seem to understand one another, but yet i have no clue as to what your getting at, i don’t mean to be rude when i say this but you two speak in riddles and words that are hard to decipher.

    For one thing, what do you mean by conciousness? Like something is going to happen to our minds that year? If that’s the case then i hope nothing happens, trust me i’ve read enough crazy theory’s on what could happen to our minds..the scariest one being that everything we see will breakdown around us and we will see nothing, hear nothing, and know nothing, until suddenly we will appear before people that are supposed to be our loved ones, it’s like life will be reset, and do you know how scary that sounds, to lose everything and be reduced to having nothing? (this is what i meant by something bad aspaceyguy) Seriously though what do you mean by conciousness, i wish to know the answer, and you two seem to have it, but again if that is what is going to happen then i say forget it.

    I’m just a simple person who wants to live a simple peaceful life as much as i can, sure i live in an area that has to deal with hurricanes every once in a while.(had to deal with two last year, but that’s besides the point) but other than that life is simple and peaceful here, i’m sick and tired of having to live in fear of these 2012 doomsday theorys that constantly pop up, i’ve been afraid since last years january and ever since then everyday of my life at least once during each day i think of what could happen to us that year, because i am that afraid, you say something good will happen, but others say something bad will happen, it’s hard to trust people these days for the truth.

    Yes i know the world’s messed up, and yes we were responsible for getting it that way, but even so i want to live, as long as i can with nothing happening to change my life from what i’ve got now because i’ve got it as good as good can be, again i don’t mean to be offensive or rude by saying this but i am so tired of all this as i want to live in peace.

  • aspaceyguy

    Thats the best focus Tenshu. Peace.
    Life for anyone is a fragile thing. Health issues or bad weather or perhaps something space like. Don’t stress yourself too much..live in the moment and embrace your peace.

    Things have changed at this web site, so I can’t speak more.

    I apologize if I failed to be understood in my previous posts.

    Fear not Tenshu. A famous teacher, Leo Buscaglia wrote: Live-Laugh-Learn

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