Cheap Astronomy - Dear CA #128: Persistent Claims

Still looking.

Hosted by Steve Nerlich.

Dear Cheap Astronomy – Is there anything new on Planet 9?

Well, not really and there is some growing skepticism about whether it's really there. Nonetheless, its original proponents, Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin, still stick to their guns on the matter, though both agree Planet 9's existence must be considered speculative until it is actually observed.

 

Dear Cheap Astronomy – Is Nemesis really out there?

Continuing the theme of hypothetical solar system bodies, Nemesis was proposed to be a small, dim and hence difficult to spot companion star of the Sun. Its existence was proposed in 1984 on the basis of a perceived 27 million year cycle in mass extinction events, where anything cyclical gets people thinking about orbits – and with a 27-million-year periodicity, you need a pretty big orbit.

 

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