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Nemeski@lemm.ee to Astronomy@mander.xyz · 1 month ago

New dwarf planet spotted at the edge of the solar system

www.newscientist.com

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New dwarf planet spotted at the edge of the solar system

www.newscientist.com

Nemeski@lemm.ee to Astronomy@mander.xyz · 1 month ago
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The unusual orbit of a possible dwarf planet, known as 2017 OF201, makes it less likely that our solar system contains a hidden ninth “Planet X”
  • tiny_hedgehog@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    “The object is currently about 90.5 astronomical units (AU) away from us, or roughly 90 times as far from Earth as the sun is.”

    This sentence pissed me off so much and I stopped reading after it.

    It is 90.5 times as far from the Sun as the Earth is from the Sun. Why’d you have to go and change the frame of reference to Earth?

    • Etterra@discuss.online
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      1 month ago

      Well it’s a good frame of reference because it’s where most of us keep all our stuff.

      • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
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        1 month ago

        Talk about putting all our eggs in the same basket smh

    • Kichae@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      It didn’t. It’s 90.5 AU from us, and us is Earth. Or do you live on the Sun?

      • tiny_hedgehog@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        If we are 1AU from the sun, and this planet is 90AU from the sun, then it is between 89 and 91 AUs from earth depending on the progress of our orbits (assuming perfectly circular orbits). So they did change the frame of reference.

        • lud@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          deleted by creator

          • tiny_hedgehog@lemm.ee
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            1 month ago

            You are right. I stand corrected.

    • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      They didn’t change the reference, they defined an AU.

    • AlbinoPython@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I mean, they said “roughly”.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        1 month ago

        Like, give or take one AU, throughout the year.

        • tiny_hedgehog@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          Fair, but annoying to the pendantic.

    • powerofm@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      “It’s 20.5°C outside or roughly 20 notches on your thermometer (except for americans)”

    • ThermonuclearEgg [she/her, they/them]@hexbear.net
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      1 month ago

      Here’s another article that doesn’t do this for anyone else that would prefer it:

      https://phys.org/news/2025-05-extreme-cousin-pluto-dwarf-planet.html

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