- #1
mee
- 213
- 1
Could Sedna be a trapped rogue planet due to the nature of its distant and highly eccentric orbit? Could a trip to Sedna thus be useful?
Could Sedna be a trapped rogue planet
- Thread starter mee
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Planet
In summary, Sedna is a distant and highly eccentric planetoid that probably got kicked into its orbit when a star passed by the Sun more than four billion years ago. Whether it is a "trapped planet" or "rogue planet" is still up for debate, but its origins are fascinating nonetheless. Sedna's orbit dictates that it MUST be a "trapped planet" or "rogue planet". If not, we'd better throw away all our theories on our Solar System's formation, because there ain't no room for a Sedna in it. Sedna would probably be older than all our planets, so it is cool that we could potentially find out more about extraterrestrial planets by sending a probe to it.
- #2
Nommos Prime (Dogon)
- 224
- 0
Yes
Its orbit dictates that it MUST be a "trapped planet" or "rogue planet". If not, we'd better throw away all our theories on our Solar System's formation, because there ain't no room for a Sedna in it...
Its orbit dictates that it MUST be a "trapped planet" or "rogue planet". If not, we'd better throw away all our theories on our Solar System's formation, because there ain't no room for a Sedna in it...
- #3
mee
- 213
- 1
Thanks
Thats cool if you are right. Maybe we could send a probe to it and find out about extraterrestrial planets. Not that it wouldn't take forever to do it and we probably wouldn't find out anything too shattering. Its still cool!
Nommos Prime (Dogon) said:
Thats cool if you are right. Maybe we could send a probe to it and find out about extraterrestrial planets. Not that it wouldn't take forever to do it and we probably wouldn't find out anything too shattering. Its still cool!
- #4
mee
- 213
- 1
Actually...
How would it become "rogue" in the first place? Perhaps it was thrown about by a supernova and thus would have an interesting structure perhaps. It would probably be older than all our planets. Cool stuff!
mee said:
How would it become "rogue" in the first place? Perhaps it was thrown about by a supernova and thus would have an interesting structure perhaps. It would probably be older than all our planets. Cool stuff!
- #5
check
- 145
- 0
- #6
tony873004
Science Advisor
Gold Member
- 1,752
- 143
I think it's more likely that a passing Brown Dwarf, rather than a passing Star disrupted the orbit of Sedna. First of all, Brown Dwarfs are theorized to outnumber stars. With stars, the lower the mass, the more numerous the stars. There's no reason to believe that this trend ends at the mass critical for hydrogen fusion. So a Brown Dwarf passage is much more likely.
Also, a star, with its more massive gravity field would probably not be able to pluck Sedna from the Kuiper belt and send its Apihelion into the Oort Cloud without doing the same to most other Kuiper Belt Objects. A star passing that close would probably also introduce some eccentricity into Neptune's orbit. Yet Neptune's orbit is quite round.
On the other hand, a brown dwarf has the gravitational strength to do the job, and is capable of making a more surgical strike, affecting only Sedna and KBOs in Sedna's vicinity without disrupting much else. Perhaps Pluto was in Sedna's vicinity, but a bit more distant at the time so didn't get affected nearly as much. And Quaoar was on the other side of the Sun, where the Brown Dwarf couldn't touch it. Quaoar has a very round orbit.
Just my 2 cents
Also, a star, with its more massive gravity field would probably not be able to pluck Sedna from the Kuiper belt and send its Apihelion into the Oort Cloud without doing the same to most other Kuiper Belt Objects. A star passing that close would probably also introduce some eccentricity into Neptune's orbit. Yet Neptune's orbit is quite round.
On the other hand, a brown dwarf has the gravitational strength to do the job, and is capable of making a more surgical strike, affecting only Sedna and KBOs in Sedna's vicinity without disrupting much else. Perhaps Pluto was in Sedna's vicinity, but a bit more distant at the time so didn't get affected nearly as much. And Quaoar was on the other side of the Sun, where the Brown Dwarf couldn't touch it. Quaoar has a very round orbit.
Just my 2 cents
FAQ: Could Sedna be a trapped rogue planet
1. What is a trapped rogue planet?
A trapped rogue planet is a planet that has been captured by the gravitational pull of another larger object, such as a star or a gas giant. This can happen when the rogue planet passes close enough to the larger object to be pulled into its orbit.
2. How could Sedna become a trapped rogue planet?
Sedna could potentially become a trapped rogue planet if it were to come close enough to a larger object, such as a star or gas giant, and get caught in its gravitational pull. This could happen if Sedna's orbit were to be disrupted by another object in the outer solar system.
3. What evidence suggests that Sedna could be a trapped rogue planet?
Some scientists have speculated that Sedna's highly elliptical orbit and distance from the rest of the solar system could be indications that it was once a rogue planet that was captured by the gravitational pull of another object. However, this theory is still being studied and is not yet confirmed.
4. Could other objects in the outer solar system also be trapped rogue planets?
It is possible that other objects in the outer solar system, such as dwarf planets or large asteroids, could also be trapped rogue planets. Further research and observation will be needed to determine if this is the case.
5. What would it mean if Sedna is confirmed to be a trapped rogue planet?
If Sedna is confirmed to be a trapped rogue planet, it would provide new insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system. It could also lead to a better understanding of how rogue planets are captured and how they may affect the dynamics of a solar system.