This new planet in the solar system interests scientists: we present to you our Earth-like master

Is a star similar to ours attracted to a place not far from us? On the scale of the universe, it is called an Earth-like planet Our master It’s next door.

The presence of this element reclassified it as a planet Astronomical magazine Last August excited the scientific community. And for good reason: Sedna looks like a blue planet.

“Kuiper belt planet scenario”

Through this scenario, the hypothesis of the existence of such a planet was born in 2003. Then the American astronomer Michael Brown observed an icy, reddish star that appeared in the field of telescopes.

Our master is located on Kuiper beltIt is a disk-shaped region located outside the orbit of the last known planet in the solar system, Neptune. This space is home to other globular stars whose naming has long been the subject of debate. Pluto At the top of the list, it was demoted in 2006.

The discovery of Michael Brown represents the beginning of a scientific conspiracy: on the one hand we must succeed in observing this very distant star and on the other hand we must succeed in determining its main characteristics. This is where American Astronomical Society work published this summer adds several elements.

similar

the Gravity phenomena Observed in the Kuiper Belt provide rich insights into the possible properties of Sedna. Given the observed movements, its mass would be similar to that of Earth.

In fact, theories of gravity that have developed over three centuries assume that the mass of elements in space affects the attraction they exert between them. Sedna would have to be as massive as Earth for this phenomenon to occur in the region.

This will be the planet 1.5 to 3 times heavier From the blue planet, said the study’s authors, Patrick Sofia Likoka and Takashi Ito, from Japanese universities.

The researchers believe: “We must improve the definition of the planet, because the Earth-like planet located beyond Neptune is likely to belong to a new class of planets.” A group of objects remains to be found on the outskirts of Sedna, signs of its strong gravity.

A (very) distant cousin

It would take our Lord 11,400 years to orbit the Sun, a much longer period of time than the Earth gives its rhythms to our years. Its orbit is eccentric and elongated, making its path a long ellipse away from Earth 250 to 500 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

This is the main reason why they are so interesting, and so difficult to observe. The Earth is located 149 million kilometers from the Sun, while our Lord is farther away from it 37 to 74 billion kilometersseven thousand light years.

And if this discovery may seem anecdotal, the researchers’ eyes sparkle: “The discovery of one or a few new trans-Neptunian objects could revolutionize our theories about the formation of the solar system.”