• Optional
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    714 days ago

    Planet Nine from Outer Space

    . . . I’ll show myself out

  • Einar
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    14 days ago

    What are we going to name it when it is found?

    I trust we really don’t want “Planet Nine” (if we do, we should rename Earth to “Planet 3”), let alone “Planet X”. Any better ideas?

      • The Bard in GreenOP
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        212 days ago

        I had a roomate ten years ago who seriously believed in all that crap. Lizard people from the edge of the solar system here to claim our gold.

    • The Bard in GreenOP
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      14 days ago

      If Mike Brown finds it, he’ll jump all over naming it, and I’m sure that’s part of his motivation for hunting it so doggedly. He’s like that.

    • Lvxferre
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      214 days ago

      With two exceptions*, the names are from Roman mythology. So I’d expect the new planet to get a definitive name from the same template. (Please be Janus. It’s the gate of the solar system!)

      *Uranus is from Greek mythology, with no good Latin equivalent. Terra is trickier; you could argue that it fits the template for Latin and the Romance languages, but most others simply use local words for soil, without a connection to the goddess. That is also called Tellus to add confusion.

      • @YungOnions
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        214 days ago

        Tellus would be a cool name for a planet, imo.

        • Lvxferre
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          113 days ago

          It would, indeed. I wouldn’t mind if it was the scientific/“proper” name for Earth.

          • @Murdoc
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            313 days ago

            I would; it’s too close to Telus (but pronounced the same), a terrible phone company where I live.

            • Lvxferre
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              113 days ago

              How do you pronounce the company name? For reference, Latin “Tellus” would be /tɛllu:s/; the nearest English equivalent would be “TELL loos”, I guess.

              • @Murdoc
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                313 days ago

                Tell-us, so more like it looks I guess.

    • @[email protected]
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      114 days ago

      It will likely be a Greek or Roman name in keeping with tradition. The IAU generally let’s the person/group that discovers have an influence in the decision but they’re the final say on the name.

  • @[email protected]
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    -414 days ago

    Surely the absence of nine indicates our model of gravity is off. Combined with lack of Dark Matter, is Einstein wrong?