Idaho Skies Transcript for June 4th and 5th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for June 4th and 5th. We’re your hosts, Rachel…


PAUL
…and Paul.


RACHEL
English astronomer John Couch Adams was born 200 years ago on the 5th.


PAUL
Adams? Where have I heard that name before?


RACHEL
We mentioned him last year and how he nearly discovered Neptune.


PAUL
You see, astronomers published an updated table of planetary positions back in 1821.


RACHEL
And quickly discovered that Uranus didn’t play by the rules of the table.


PAUL
So some astronomers assumed there must be an undiscovered planet in the depths of the solar system.


RACHEL
French astronomer Le Verrier and Adams both thought they could use mathematics to discover the location of this planet.


PAUL
And in fact they did. But Adams was not very clear in communicating his findings.


RACHEL
And that’s why French astronomers were first to discover Neptune in 1846  


PAUL
Something similar is playing out today.


RACHEL
Astronomers like Mike Brown have discovered an unexpected tilt shared between several distant Trans-Neptunian objects, or TBOs.


PAUL
The gravity of the eight known planets can’t account for this tilt.


RACHEL
So Brown argues that this is the gravitational sign of a ninth planet in the far reaches of the solar system.


PAUL
Initially, Brown predicted that the planet needed to be ten times more massive than Earth.


RACHEL
But more recent calculations indicate that a planet with the mass of Mars is enough.


PAUL
At the mass of Mars, this ninth planet would be gigantic among the TBOs.


RACHEL
But please, don’t confuse this ninth planet with the Planet Ten of the doomsayers.


PAUL
This possible ninth planet is based on math and astronomy.


RACHEL
And not conspiracy theories like Planet Ten.


PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 4th and 5th of June.


RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog at idahoskies.blogspot.com for additional information.
For Idaho Skies this is Rachel…


PAUL
…and Paul.


RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.