Interstellar visitor may have altered planetary orbits in Solar System, say scientists
A group of scientists has proposed that a massive interstellar object, potentially eight times the size of Jupiter, might have dramatically influenced the orbits of planets in our solar system. The study, currently published on the arXiv preprint database but not yet peer-reviewed, suggests that this celestial intruder passed close to where Mars orbits today, reshaping the paths of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
For years, researchers have noted a discrepancy between the ideal concentric, planar arrangement of planetary orbits and their current three-dimensional orientations. To investigate, the team hypothesized that approximately four billion years ago, a star-sized object entered our solar system. They conducted 50,000 simulations over 20 million years, varying the visitor's mass, velocity, and proximity to the Sun.
Their findings indicate that in about 1% of scenarios, the object's gravitational influence could explain the current orbital patterns of the planets. According to the simulations, the interstellar visitor may have approached within 1.69 astronomical units (AU) of the Sun—just beyond Mars' present orbit. Such proximity would have allowed its gravity to nudge the planets into new trajectories.
While previous theories attributed these irregularities to interactions among the planets themselves, this study posits that a one-time interstellar event may provide a more plausible explanation. The researchers also called for further investigation into the potential effects of such an encounter on minor planets in the asteroid belt and the trans-Neptunian region.
"We estimate that there is about a 1-in-100 chance that such a flyby produces a dynamical architecture similar to that of the solar system," the researchers stated, adding that this encounter could account for the moderate eccentricities and inclinations observed in planetary orbits.
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Karnataka govt tables Rs 14,767 cr supplementary estimates in assembly
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday tabled the supplementary estimates in the assembly, totalling Rs 14,767 crore of additional expenditure for the current fiscal.
Tabled by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, supplementary estimates are additional expenditures incurred by the government over and above the budget provisions.
In the fiscal ending March, additional expenditures include Rs 147 crore on the Sadhana Samavesha to mark two years of the Congress government and Rs 223 crore for railway barricading to prevent human-elephant conflict.
As per the supplementary estimates, the government spent Rs 1.25 crore to purchase a Volvo XC90 for former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
It also includes -- Rs 1,025 crore to clear various irrigation works bills, Rs 15 crore for helicopter and air travels by Governor, CM, ministers and other VIPs, Rs 110 crore towards scholarship and tuition fee reimbursement for minority students, Rs 15 crore for development of various temples, maths and trusts.
The government also spent Rs 1.4 crore to print a book comprising 'selected' speeches of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Rs 50 lakh to clear pending electricity and water bills of ministers' residences, Rs 10 crore towards rehabilitation of families affected by landslides at Meppadi in Wayanad, Kerala.
Rs 5 crore each for Brahmin Development Board and Arya-Vysya Development Corporation, Rs 60 lakh to Supreme Court senior advocate Kapil Sibal for two appearances representing the government, Rs 5.13 crore towards bills from the Belagavi winter session of the legislature, Rs 5.5 crore towards pending bills from the 2019 and 2021 Assembly bypolls and the upcoming Davangere South and Bagalkot bypolls, are among the expenditures incurred.
