Weird Object Beyond Pluto (Sedna) Gets Stranger

[On the Road]

----snip

Caltech astronomer Mike Brown, who led the discovery, said Sedna's slow rotation rate had him convinced there was an unseen satellite exerting a gravitational tug.

Here's why: Most objects in the solar system that don't have companions complete a rotation, or day, in a matter of hours. There are many examples of fast-spinning asteroids and similarly whirling large, round Kuiper Belt objects. Pluto, on the other hand, has had its rotational period slowed to six Earth-days by its companion, Charon.

Sedna spins on its axis once every 20 Earth-days, or perhaps even more slowly, making the presence of a moon practically inevitable, Brown had thought. So shortly after the discovery, Hubble was pointed at Sedna. "Much to our surprise, there's no satellite," he told reporters today.

"I'm completely baffled at the absence of a moon," Brown said. "This is outside the realm of expectation and makes Sedna even more interesting. But I simply don't know what it means."

----snip



http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/hubble_sedna_040414.html

[GOPFighter]

1. We can resolve that!

snip---

"Its discovery has astronomers arguing over whether to call it a planet or a planetoid, and whether to count it as one of many objects in the Kuiper Belt, where Pluto roams, or the first known example of an expected halo of more distant objects called the Oort Cloud."

snip---

Sounds like we need a world-famous DU POLLTM to resolve this!

I vote for Oort Cloud.

[Ready4Change]

3. Well heck. If we can vote I say...

It's the massive colony ship used to deposit mankind here. Our father species placed it so far away that we'd need considerable technology and social abilities to reach it, meaning we'd be better prepared to deal with the vastly more powerful technologies we'd discover there.

Until we get more info I'm sticking with my far more interesting theory. So there!

:P

[On the Road]

5. Ready for Change, You Can Vote Now

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1013570

I included your option.

On Edit: And judging from the response, a lot of people seem to agree with you.

[Ready4Change]

7. Just voted

One vote placed for the complete, totally unverifiable TRUTH! :crazy:

[On the Road]

4. GOPFighter, I Took You Up on Your Suggestion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1013570

[LastRobot]

2. what about

Venus? No moon and its day is longer than its year (something over 200 days).

I've heard that if the Earth never had the moon, we'd be much like Venus.

[pmbryant]

6. Venus is definitely an oddity

It rotates extremely slowly and in the wrong direction.

Earth's Moon is actually causing Earth's rotation to slow down, though (via tidal forces). So without the Moon, Earth would be spinning somewhat faster than it already does.

--Peter