Was a fifth gas giant ejected from the solar system?

[YellowSubmarine]

It's kinda creepy, but I don't see why it should be more frightening than any extrasolar planet. It's only frightening if some of these were ejected after complex life developed on the planet... Or there was a civilization. Given how big the universe is, this has to have happened somewhere.

I also feel that there's a moderate chance that there's a rogue planet closer to us than Alpha Centauri.

 

[sojourner]

Whoa. 70k ly. The cosmos is probably teaming with these things. Wonder how often encounters occur between these rogue worlds and other systems.

Frightening really.

Space is really big. So random encounters are not very likely.

 

[JB2005]

God I would love if someone remade the ending of Caretaker so Voyager got smacked into pieces by an extra-solar planet...

Also...go mondas!

 

[Butters]

Whoa. 70k ly. The cosmos is probably teaming with these things. Wonder how often encounters occur between these rogue worlds and other systems.

Frightening really.

Space is really big. So random encounters are not very likely.

Space is big, big enough that these encounters are probably occurring at this very instant (relativity notwithstanding) at an infinite number of locations across the whole of creation.

Its only luck that its not happening here now. Probably.

 

[sojourner]

^Empty space is infinitely bigger than the matter that makes up the universe. Random encounters of rogue planets, while infinite in probability, is still very small when taking in the entire universe. Very little luck needed.

 

[23skidoo]

I think this scientist is goofy. Unless you know the original mass of the solar system, how can you tell if it's missing some?

Nice try.

Uh, I believe they worked that out long ago. Doing a quick Google search I found out the original mass of the Kuiper Belt was about the same as 30 earths. They can work it out, just like they can work out at what angle the sun was in the sky over Flin Flon, Manitoba on January 6, 4003 BC. Or figure out what's in the core of an exoplanet around the star DipsyDoodle 62.

Math is magic!

Alex

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Can they figure out where my socks went? Can't find them anywhere.

 

[Saquist]

I think this scientist is goofy. Unless you know the original mass of the solar system, how can you tell if it's missing some?

Nice try.

Uh, I believe they worked that out long ago. Doing a quick Google search I found out the original mass of the Kuiper Belt was about the same as 30 earths. They can work it out, just like they can work out at what angle the sun was in the sky over Flin Flon, Manitoba on January 6, 4003 BC. Or figure out what's in the core of an exoplanet around the star DipsyDoodle 62.

Math is magic!

Alex

That's math plus a uniformitarianist approach to science. The thinking that events have progressed incrementally to their present day position. Only until recently (as of the 90's) has science BEGUN to accept catastrophic upheavals in the environment that interrupt the assumed incremental progress they usually adapt such as large asteroids striking the Earth.

Now blending Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism is all the rage and have sprouted all sorts of new theories and I'm sure it will continue as such as preconceived notions are swept away.

 

[FordSVT]

I wonder how far the presumptive ejected planet could have gotten. Nice to use it as a way-station for the far future...

Multiplying a random number close to Uranus' orbital velocity to 3 billion years yields 70000 light years.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=7+km/s+*+3+billion+years+in+light+years

I have absolutely no idea how would an ejection velocity compare to the orbital velocity, so YMMV. That's how far Uranus would go in 3 billion years if you deleted the Sun.

Whoa. 70k ly. The cosmos is probably teaming with these things. Wonder how often encounters occur between these rogue worlds and other systems.

Frightening really.

Probably a lot less often then you'd imagine.