Another solar system barged past ours

Another solar system barged past ours ››: Computer simulations suggest that 4 billion years ago another proplyd shoved past ours only tens of billion miles from Sol, perhaps taking some of our disk's more distant material. This could be the cause of the the hard face we present to the universe, where the Kuipier Belt stops abruptly at fifty AU instead of petering out. The interloper may even have donated a few bits, like maybe Sedna. Astronomers have calculated the angles of the flyby necessary to explain some of the known distributions of matter in the Solar System and this constrains their model, allowing predictions of in which weird orbits other material will be found. If the telescopes spot this material, the interstellar drive-by theory will be supported. Watch the skies! (via); [Permalink…05-Dec-04…Deserving memes…]

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