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| The red green and blue dots represent the location of 2012 VP113 |
The Gemini Observatory has reported that they found a very far and distant Dwarf Planet. They named it 2012 VP113. This planet was found at the very edge of our solar system. This is most likely one of several thousands objects in deep space that form the Oort cloud. Researchers from the Gemini Observatory believe that this might bring proof that there is an even bigger planet out there influencing the orbit of 2012 VP113. It is thought to be ten time the size of Earth. The solar system is divided into three parts; the rocky planets, the gas planets, and the frozen objects. Sedna, which is categorized under the frozen objects was thought to be the farthest planet in our solar system, but 2012 VP113 is much further than Sedna.
The discovery of 2012 VP113 proves that Sedna was not something special. Instead, it might be part of several other planets that were formed by comets. The closest orbit to the sun of 2012 VP113 is 80 times the distance of the Earth to the Sun. Scott Sheppard believes that scientist should continue to search for planets like Sedna and 2012 VP113 because they can help us know more about the history of our solar system.Sedna and 2012 VP113 were found at their closest orbit to the Sun. If they were any farther it would be much more difficult to find them because the Sun's light wouldn't be able to reach them at a very long distance. Their AU's are in the hundreds range, while the rocky planets are within the first 5 AU.
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140326153725.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2012_VP113_discovery_image.jpg
Posted by Unknown
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at
10:49 AM
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While studying a nearby galaxy named M83, a team of
Australian and MAericans found a small yet powerful black hole and named it
MQ1. It’s the first black hole of its kind to be studied in this much detail.
Astronomers have found other objects similar to MQ1 but they were not able to
determine the size of the black hole. Previously, it was thought that MQ1 was a
bigger black hole because of its power but they found out that it was a normal
small black hole. It’s categorized as a microquazar. “Roberto Soria from Curtin
University in Australia, who led the team investigating MQ1, said it was
important to understand how stars were formed, how they evolved, and how they
died within a spiral shaped galaxy like M83.”
There is evidence that several black holes like MQ1 were
common when the universe first started. Astronomers believe that these type of
powerful black holes played an essential role in the early stages of the evolution
of the galaxy. The most powerful microquasar in our galaxy is 10 times weaker
than MQ1. By studying microquasars, astronomers get to see how ast quasars grew
and how much energy black holes provided to the environment. The MQ1 is 62
miles wide but the structure is much bigger than our solar system.
Sources:
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2014/02/new-fast-and-furious-black-hole-found
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Black_Hole_Milkyway.jpg
Posted by Unknown
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at
1:57 PM
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