There is still much to be discovered in our own solar system. One of the mysteries of our solar system has been the existence of Planet X (10).
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Kuiper Belt
In a region of space in beyond the orbit of Neptune is the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is filled with countless number of icy asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets.
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The Kuiper Belt contains the remnants of the early solar system. The Kuiper Belt is an elliptical plane within the Oort Cloud that spans a distance of 30 to 50 astronomical units (AU) from our sun.
Planet Nine (9)
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The mysterious Planet Nine was found by Caltech researchers in January 2016. It is hypothesized to be about the size of Neptune but with a highly elongated orbit on an order of 20 times further out than Neptune. Planet Nine is estimated to orbit the sun once every 10,000 to 20,000 Earth years.
Planet X (10)
By observing the average tilt of Kuiper Belts objects (KBO's) scientists at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory suspect the existence a planetary-mass object. Planet Nine is too far away from the KBO's to affect the observed tilt. The planetary-mass of the object is estimated to lie somewhere between the mass of Mars and Earth. The scientists have dubbed this new planetary-mass object as Planet X (10).
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
The LSST is 8.4 meter ground-based telescope currently under construction in Chile. Scientists are optimistic that this new telescope will shed light on these hidden worlds in the Kuiper Belt.
2010 Rendering of the LSST Image Source
A public private partnership of thirty-four universities and national labs have joined together to build the new telescope. This new telescope may allow scientists to see planetary-mass objects lurking in the Kuiper Belt.
Sources and Full Articles
Planet 10? Another Earth-size world may lurk in the outer solar system, SPACE.com, 23 June 2017
Kuiper Belt Objects: Facts about the Kuiper Belt & KBOs, SPACE.com, 22 January 2016
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope deemed top priority ground-based astronomical facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 17 August 2010
Thank you so much for adding this video of the LSST!!
Have a great weekend!
Steem on,
Mike
Same to you. I was wondering if LSST was infrared like the Vatican's LUCIFER telescope to view the X Planet and sure enough is. https://www.lsst.org/about/tel-site/optical_design
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Thanks for sharing ! I follow!
Have a look at my page, i'm astrophotographer :)
Very interesting. I am fascinated by how little we actually know. We have so much amazing technology, but we cannot figure out what our own solar system looks like. At the same time scientists discover planets orbiting other stars, many lightyears away.
The universe from the smallest building block of matter to the vastness of space holds many wonders and discoveries yet to be known.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Mike
Same to you Mike
i Love this stuff! Everything out beyond Pluto is cool, cool, cool.
Very nice post!
Interesting to know more about the planet.
Rad! I wanna go to space. what about that star that is I think a sun that they may have found evidence of some sort of a cube structure around the star and they say its to harness energy? i dont know much about it, only hurd of it recently
Yes, I know of the star with the lattice structure around it. It could be natural and could be of an unknown origin.
It seems logical to think some very advanced civilization built it, but currently there is no way of knowing for sure. Just speculation.
Alien Megastructure? 'Tabby's Star' Continues to Baffle Scientists
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Mike
either way, its so effin rad! this is by far the craziest thing ive hurd of in space since ive bin alive!
Best post
Ilike it
Very cool post @etcmike! Indeed, the Kuiper belt could help reveal an unconfirmed planet with similar mass to Mars. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Thank you!
I blog post on a variety of topics. Science being one such topic.
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Mike
God postAbout space I love, about space interesting
Thank you!
Have a great weekend!
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Fellow space enthusiast, Mike
Yes
Very interesting post.
i love the info and thank you for posting
Brrr, it's cold out there, isn't it?
The Sun must appear faint almost like a star.
Lot's of natural gas though, not that we have to go that far to get it.
It may be cold out there but it is full of wonder and mysteries waiting to be discovered.
Have a great weekend!
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Mike
You are correct still more mysteries are to be solved in our solar system.
There is a whole universe of wonders out there!!
Have a great weekend!
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Mike
Ive always been a sucker for astronomy, I guess I'm curious about the unknown.
I am a science geek in general. Astronomy and astrophysics are always at the top of my list followed by geology.
Have a great weekend!
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Mike
Thanks for the info and keep the articles coming !