Cheap Astronomy - Dear CA #128: Persistent Claims

Still looking. Hosted by Steve Nerlich. Dear Cheap Astronomy – Is there anything new on Planet 9? Well, not really and there is some growing skepticism about whether it's really there. Nonetheless, its original proponents, Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin, still stick to their guns on the matter, though both agree Planet 9's existence must be considered speculative until it is actually observed.   Dear Cheap Astronomy – Is Nemesis really out there? Continuing the theme of hypothetical solar system bodies, Nemesis was proposed to be a small, dim and hence difficult to spot companion star of the Sun. Its existence was proposed in 1984 on the basis of a perceived 27 million year cycle in mass extinction events, where anything cyclical gets people thinking about orbits – and with a 27-million-year periodicity, you need a pretty big orbit.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].