Planet X...?
Created | Updated Jul 30, 2003
'Alien'. A harsh word. I do believe that there is life beyond this Earth, whether it be in parallel worlds, or undiscovered planets in or out of our solar system. I have to believe, because I like to think that once we've finished ruining the world we've been given, it will not be the end of life altogether. It is too sad, to think that we are messing up the only chance of peaceful civilisation in all eternity, and so I force myself to believe that it isn't the only chance, and somewhere, another species are doing a better job than us. 'Aliens'. If you went to a new planet, and everyone there regarded you as an alienated freak; what would you think of their society? For now how about we call them, em, extra terrestrial beings. Yes, that'll do. ETBs.
ETBs; from where do they come? As we all know, far, far away. And I've no doubt that that is true. However, what about life in our very own solar system? 'PLANET X', or 'The 10th Planet'. A planet on the edge of the solar system, beyond Pluto and Neptune. For years, scientists and astronomers alike have pondered over the subject, and I decided to do some research of my own. I thought about writing a rap, but it is hard to find something rhyming with the subject that complies with the house rules of this site.
Is there a Planet X? I think this question tends to be intriguing because of X - the unknown, but right now, we just don't know if there is another planet lurking on the edges of the solar system. Something we do know; There are thousands of small objects orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune and Pluto. Called Kuiper Belt Objects, astronomers do not consider these to be planets because of their relatively small size ; the largest, Quaoar, is half the size of Pluto. They are icy and disintegrate if diverted by another cosmic body into an orbit closer to the Sun. If this occurs, they appear to us as comets.
Hold on, what exactly classifies an object as a 'planet'? Well quite simply, a planet is an object that 1. orbits the sun, and 2. is big enough to maintain a spherical shape under its own gravity. Pluto complies with these, and so do the largest of Kuiper Belt objects: The only characteristic they lack is size. So should Pluto be a planet? If discovered today, it would certainly not be classified as one. Pluto is smaller than our moon. Its icy. Its orbit slants severely from the ecliptic and it is so far from circular that it crosses Neptune's orbit.
So. We could have a tenth planet? We could have a tenth planet, we could even have 300. It depends on whether you are prepared to relax rule 2 above, that a planet must be large enough to remain round under the force of its own gravity. If Pluto is a planet, I believe that we should christen the Kuiper Belt objects as planets too.
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ETBs; from where do they come? As we all know, far, far away. And I've no doubt that that is true. However, what about life in our very own solar system? 'PLANET X', or 'The 10th Planet'. A planet on the edge of the solar system, beyond Pluto and Neptune. For years, scientists and astronomers alike have pondered over the subject, and I decided to do some research of my own. I thought about writing a rap, but it is hard to find something rhyming with the subject that complies with the house rules of this site.
Is there a Planet X? I think this question tends to be intriguing because of X - the unknown, but right now, we just don't know if there is another planet lurking on the edges of the solar system. Something we do know; There are thousands of small objects orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune and Pluto. Called Kuiper Belt Objects, astronomers do not consider these to be planets because of their relatively small size ; the largest, Quaoar, is half the size of Pluto. They are icy and disintegrate if diverted by another cosmic body into an orbit closer to the Sun. If this occurs, they appear to us as comets.
Hold on, what exactly classifies an object as a 'planet'? Well quite simply, a planet is an object that 1. orbits the sun, and 2. is big enough to maintain a spherical shape under its own gravity. Pluto complies with these, and so do the largest of Kuiper Belt objects: The only characteristic they lack is size. So should Pluto be a planet? If discovered today, it would certainly not be classified as one. Pluto is smaller than our moon. Its icy. Its orbit slants severely from the ecliptic and it is so far from circular that it crosses Neptune's orbit.
So. We could have a tenth planet? We could have a tenth planet, we could even have 300. It depends on whether you are prepared to relax rule 2 above, that a planet must be large enough to remain round under the force of its own gravity. If Pluto is a planet, I believe that we should christen the Kuiper Belt objects as planets too.
[email protected]
