Astronomer David Nesvorney in a Texas
Research Institute believes that the solar system may have lost a
giant planet. This would be called the 5th giant planet
because we already have 4, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Earth.
David believes that this planet was “kicked” out of the solar
system and that this is a common occurrence among solar systems
across the neighboring galaxies. After running simulations, some
failed, and one worked. The problem resided with the icy belt around
Neptune and an apparent anomaly 600 million years ago. With a
planet ejected, the current planets lineup worked and the icy belt
around Neptune was explained. I don't know if I completely agree
with the 600 million years ago hypothesis, however, it is interesting
that there could have been an additional planet. This would be good
extra reading material for a class, especially those interested in
space. It would also be interesting if in the future I had to teach
lessons based on this new knowledge, or had to teach based on
theories of planets here 600 million years ago.
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