Astrophysicists Find "Impossible" Planet 436
SpuriousLogic writes "Scientists have discovered a planet that shouldn't exist. The finding, they say, could alter our understanding of orbital dynamics, a field considered pretty well settled since the time of astronomer Johannes Kepler 400 years ago.
The planet is known as a 'hot Jupiter,' a gas giant orbiting the star Wasp-18, about 330 light years from Earth. The planet, Wasp-18b, is so close to the star that it completes a full orbit (its "year") in less than an Earth day, according to the research, which was published in the journal Nature.
Of the more than 370 exoplanets — planets orbiting stars other than our sun — discovered so far, this is just the second with such a close orbit.
The problem is that a planet that close should be consumed by its parent star in less than a million years, say the authors at Keele University in England. The star Wasp-18 is believed to be about a billion years old, and since stars and the planets around them are thought to form at the same time, Wasp-18b should have been reduced to cinders ages ago."
The Obligatory ... (Score:5, Funny)
...IT'S A TRAP!!!!!
According to the IAU...not a planet, right? (Score:2, Funny)
A planet must orbit the Sun.
Wasp 18b? Sinister much? (Score:4, Funny)
Disaster Area (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The Obligatory ... (Score:5, Funny)
Are you saying "That's no planet ..."?
Re:If you think the PLANET is tough (Score:2, Funny)
Chuck Norris is a native of the planet, our yellow sun saps his powers.
Quick Call the Doctor (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This just in (Score:5, Funny)
Or maybe (Score:5, Funny)
Or maybe that's one fucking badass planet. The lesson to be learned here is do not fuck with Wasp-18b.
Re:Hot Jupiter (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This just in (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Maybe the measurements are wrong or incomplete (Score:5, Funny)
Fox News Journalist: Impossible planet discovered. Will Obama's nazi socialist policies tax the good citizens of Wasp-18b until they commit suicide by diving into their sun? Find out at 8pm on The Factor!
MSNBC Journalist: Impossible planet discovered. Will Dick Cheney come back to power and invade it on false pretenses? Find out at 8pm on Countdown!
CNN Journalist: Impossible planet discovered. Watch our exciting report wherein we will use cutting edge technology to display an image of this planet above a floating pie chart!
Tabloid Journalist: Loch Ness Monster seen again! Read the shocking new evidence that proves she hails from Wasp-18b!
Slashdot Editor: Astrophysicists Find "Impossible" Planet
Different Slashdot Editor a week later: Astrophysicists Find "Impossible" Planet
Re:Is it re-up time for grants already? (Score:5, Funny)
> Queue the 'Killer meteor will come within 100 miles of earth!' too as the
> scientists ramp up their efforts to get funding.
Them getting funding for things like LINEAR is, of course, really silly
compared to:
"Oh look, honey, a shooting star! Quick...let's make a wish!"
"Wow, honey, that IS a beautiful shooting star!"
"I can still see it...you too, right?"
"That shooting star is...farking BIG!"
"Is it just me or is this gettin' creepy?"
"Now I can hear it too :-/"
WHOOOOOOSH........KABOOM!!!!!
[insert earth tremors, tidal waves and general catastrophe here]
Re:Wasp 18b? Sinister much? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Or maybe (Score:3, Funny)
Or maybe that's one fucking badass planet. The lesson to be learned here is do not fuck with Wasp-18b.
Unless you're Chuch Norris.
Wait....
Maybe Chuck Norris is an alien from planet Wasp-18b!
Of course!
That would explain everything!!!
They've done it! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Maybe the measurements are wrong or incomplete (Score:5, Funny)
A DROPDOWN BOX IS A VERY VERY STUPID MECHANISM FOR MODERATION.
Unfortunately not all browsers reliably support the Hot Branding Iron control ...
Re:Maybe the measurements are wrong or incomplete (Score:1, Funny)
So you are implying that the Slashdot editors are arguably better at creating headlines than mainstream media?
Yes. At least twice as good, as a matter of fact.
Re:or (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Maybe the measurements are wrong or incomplete (Score:4, Funny)
Al Gore: This proves that global warming exists, and is caused by man!
Internet Journalist: Al Gore claims that he invented Wasp-18b.
GW Crowd: Al Gore, the inventor of the internet, claims that man created Wasp-18b.
Slashdot: Al Gore crates the innernet.
Re:Maybe the measurements are wrong or incomplete (Score:5, Funny)
password: **********
modding.... [35%]
Re:or (Score:3, Funny)
The clients didn't pay the Magratheans their bill on time.
Re:It goes hand in hand with conspiracy theory (Score:3, Funny)
He had it right: in case of large tinfoil hat, Slashdot is prepared.
Re:Maybe the measurements are wrong or incomplete (Score:2, Funny)
[creationist mode] Ha! So now even scientists admit that "orbital dynamics" is a fraud! The Earth really is flat and the center of the universe! AND TO MAKE MY POINT EVEN BETTER, I'LL PUT IT IN ALL CAPS!!!!! [/creationist mode]
Re:Wasp 18b? Sinister much? (Score:3, Funny)
Multipass.
Re:Maybe the measurements are wrong or incomplete (Score:2, Funny)
'sudo' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
You insensitive clod!!!
Re:or (Score:3, Funny)
To "young"-earth creationists, what we see here is certainly not "impossible," or improbable. In fact, it is to be expected!
That planet is "impossible" because their "science" is impossible.
Orbital dynamics "settled" science for 400 years? The age of the universe (ballpark figure) had been settled for a lot longer than that until modern, naturalist scientists decided to unsettle it. Look who's doing the backpedaling now... (Not saying they'll return to Genesis for answers; they'll just devise even more wildly contorted naturalistic hypotheses to explain why reality discombobulates their "settled" teachings.)