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The far reaches of the outer solar system may be home to an icy giant — a hypothetical planet scientists have dubbed "Planet Nine."
Meanwhile, archives back on Earth are home to dozens of medieval records documenting the passage of comets through the heavens. Now, two researchers from Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland are hoping to use these old scrolls and tapestries to solve the modern astronomical mystery of Planet Nine.
Medieval records could provide another tool, said Pedro Lacerda, a Queen's University astronomer and the other leader of the project.
"We can take the orbits of comets currently known and use a computer to calculate the times when those comets would be visible in the skies during the Middle Ages," Lacerda told Live Science. "The precise times depend on whether our computer simulations include Planet Nine. So, in simple terms, we can use the medieval comet sightings to check which computer simulations work best: the ones that include Planet Nine or the ones that do not." [The Evidence for 'Planet Nine' in Images (Gallery)]
originally posted by: Misterlondon
But I thought this supposed planet is meant to pass every 36,000 years..?
Doesn't quite fit with a medieval timeline..
originally posted by: Krakatoa
originally posted by: Misterlondon
But I thought this supposed planet is meant to pass every 36,000 years..?
Doesn't quite fit with a medieval timeline..
The data points from the tapestries are not direct evidence of its existence. They could provide additional data on the comets that would have been perturbed by it's passage way out there in the Kuiper belt. The current computer models of the comet paths could be further corrected using the dates of the depictions in the larger historical record.
That is the key here and the source of the claims in the article.
originally posted by: Misterlondon
But I thought this supposed planet is meant to pass every 36,000 years..?
Doesn't quite fit with a medieval timeline..
originally posted by: Masterjaden
a reply to: Krakatoa
Planet ten. There are already nine, I don't give a # what the rewriters of history say...
Jaden
originally posted by: muzzleflash
originally posted by: Masterjaden
a reply to: Krakatoa
Planet ten. There are already nine, I don't give a # what the rewriters of history say...
Jaden
Planet 11 or 12.
I consider Ceres a planet and I'm still not completely convinced Vulcan (the hypothetical planet closer than Mercury to Sol) doesn't exist.
originally posted by: muzzleflash
originally posted by: Masterjaden
a reply to: Krakatoa
Planet ten. There are already nine, I don't give a # what the rewriters of history say...
Jaden
Planet 11 or 12.
I consider Ceres a planet and I'm still not completely convinced Vulcan (the hypothetical planet closer than Mercury to Sol) doesn't exist.