Strange New 'Twin' Worlds Found

toomanyairmiles writes "The BBC reports on the the discovery of 'twin worlds' which orbit each other, successfully blurring the line between planets and stars. 'Their existence challenges current theories about the formation of planets and stars.' according to the Journal of Science article which reports their existence. 'The pair belongs to what some astronomers believe is a new class of planet-like objects floating through space; so-called planetary mass objects, or "planemos", which are not bound to stars.'"

That's no planemos.

[Lord Ender]

It's a space station!

Just a hop, skip and a jump....

[russ1337]

FTFA:

They go under the official name Oph 162225-240515, or Oph 1622 for short.

I think we can just stick to "The twins"...

Re:Just a hop, skip and a jump....

[$RANDOMLUSER]

I think we can just stick to "The twins"...

AKA "Mary Kate" and "Ashley"?

Once Again Proving...

[vjmurphy]

"The pair belongs to what some astronomers believe is a new class of planet-like objects floating through space; so-called planetary mass objects, or "planemos", which are not bound to stars.'"

Once again proving that astronomers should not be naming things while drunk. Here's a handy reminder: "Remember the Planemos!"

Re:That's no planemos.

[forkazoo]

Well, considering the definition of planemo as anything with planetary mass not orbiting a star... A sufficiently large space station / space ship would qualify as a planemo. So, unfortunately, that joke doesn't really apply here. It is, however, still "no moon." :)

Re:Just a hop, skip and a jump....

[kfg]

I think we can just stick to "The twins"...

I like Planemo and Planelarry, implying, of course, the future discovery of Planecurly and a receding Planeshemp.

KFG

Re:Just goes to show...

[diersing]

It also shows that no scientific theory can be trusted to be valid past lunch, we just never know when we'll find something new that blows the standing knowledge out of the water.

Can it all really be random?

http://www.venganza.org/

Ben Affleck again

[krell]

"Yes, it's really easy to confuse a ball of rock with a star. I mean, the similarities are so obvious."

In terms of such stars as Ben Affleck, the similarities do start to build up.

Important question relevant to the issue

[JamesP]

Which one is the evil twin?

Thank you , I'll be here all evening!

Re:Blurring what?

[Potor]

Yes, it's really easy to confuse a ball of rock ...

... like jupiter?

Snakes????

[krell]

Snakes, on a PLANEMO????

Re:poor name

[kfg]

How about starlet?

Then we could name heavely bodies after heavenly bodies.

KFG

Pizza Pizza

[krell]

No need to get all excited because Galactus phoned in to Magrathea for the two-for-one special. Different toppings on each planemo, no less.

Re:Makes me wonder about some things.

[suggsjc]

You've got questions...I've got answers

why do we have a planet that doesn't follow the plane?

It marches to the beat of a different drummer. Its the "alternative" planet.

is it slowly falling into line with the rest?

Yes, they always do.

Was Pluto originally extra-solar?

We were all "extra-solar" at one point or another...know what I mean.

Could it have developed in this eccentric orbit if it were originally part of the solar system when it formed?

If it were originally a part of the "system" then it wouldn't seem so eccentic now would it?

Is it possible that Pluto somehow, amongst the billions of years our system has been around, floated into orbit here for good, from Out There?

Yeah, it got bored and had nothing better to do the next few billion years or so.

And if so, if there are enough of these free-floating masses out there, what kind of percentage of the unobservable 'dark matter' might this account for?

Obviouslly, 42

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all day.

Hey I saw this movie!

[XJHardware]

The first planemo will make a very close approach to Earth. The second will smack right into earth. But by then the spaceships we cobble together with nifty 50's retro-tech will have blasted off with the lucky few colonists to build a new civilization. Too bad with such a small gene pool they'll devolve into slack jawed mouth breathers in a few generations. Looks like the future of reality TV is assured.

They have it all wrong...

[monoqlith]

PlanemO's are actually God's cereal.

Two planets that are great together!

[Anonymous Coward]

>[...]to make twin planets, you'd need only a nebula that's peanut-shaped, so it collapses into two bodies.

You got a planet in my peanut-shaped nebula!
Hey - YOU got a planet in my peanut-shaped nebula!

Finding Planemo

[Joebert]

Smell that ?
It's the smell of rendering farms heating up at Pixar.

see...

[kaddeh]

this is what happens when the moon gets a bulge :/