- #1
Beth Doodle
- 20
- 5
First let me make clear that I am not a student in Physics. I have a BA in Anthropology and a BS in Computer Science. My only background in Astronomy and Astrophysics is as a fan. The sort that has watched lots of Discovery Channel-likeTV shows over the years. I'm now 61.
The reason that I joined this forum is to get a question answered.
People here might be aware of the current conspiracy theory running rampant on YouTube of there being a brown dwarf system within our solar system (Niburu/Nemesis/Planet X/etc.). I'm not here to debate on whether or not it exists - I myself am reserving final judgment until we have real, solid evidence - rather than photos of sun dogs, lens flares, and red clouds. (BTW - Even when you give scientific explanations to people that debunk their "evidence" they will still refuse to believe you. I think they prefer the fun of believing in their titillating pet theories more than hearing the truth - after all, the truth spoils all their fun. Sad, but true. I've given up on the "look at my picture of Niburu!" group. Evidence, logic, and reason mean nothing to them.)
I would like a question answered about something that has just come to my attention from what is, to me, the newest bit of this particular conspiracy theory.
I just watched a video where someone conjectured that the Nov. 13th conjunction of Jupiter and Venus would ignite Jupiter. Personally, even as an amateur, I don't see how this could happen if just Jupiter and Venus are involved - they are just too far apart physically and there needs to be something that would trigger an ignition.
So, just for grins, let's think about what might happen if this brown dwarf system actually were within our solar system. Could this possibly be something that could trigger an ignition of Jupiter?
I have seen claims that this red dwarf will impact Jupiter. There are also others that say that it will impact Earth - or at least pass close enough by to have devastating effects.
I just got finished reading a thread from this forum from 2010 titled Possibility of igniting Jupiter where I had hoped to get some insight into my questions. I joined this forum so that I could post my questions there, but it's closed, so I started this thread.
To be clear, I'm not asking about Jupiter becoming a star - just about it igniting.
I learned in that other forum that in order for Jupiter to have a significant ignition that it would require an oxidizer. And in order for that ignition to be of any significance, it would require a very significant oxidizer source.
Would a brown dwarf contain enough of a source of oxidizer to cause a significant combustion event? If so, would a collision be enough to trigger that ignition? What could we expect the resulting explosion to be like? What would it look like from earth? What would the effects be on earth?
When confronting wild theories like these, I like to arm my self with scientific information. I may still fail to make a dent in their beliefs, but I can at least say I tried.
The reason that I joined this forum is to get a question answered.
People here might be aware of the current conspiracy theory running rampant on YouTube of there being a brown dwarf system within our solar system (Niburu/Nemesis/Planet X/etc.). I'm not here to debate on whether or not it exists - I myself am reserving final judgment until we have real, solid evidence - rather than photos of sun dogs, lens flares, and red clouds. (BTW - Even when you give scientific explanations to people that debunk their "evidence" they will still refuse to believe you. I think they prefer the fun of believing in their titillating pet theories more than hearing the truth - after all, the truth spoils all their fun. Sad, but true. I've given up on the "look at my picture of Niburu!" group. Evidence, logic, and reason mean nothing to them.)
I would like a question answered about something that has just come to my attention from what is, to me, the newest bit of this particular conspiracy theory.
I just watched a video where someone conjectured that the Nov. 13th conjunction of Jupiter and Venus would ignite Jupiter. Personally, even as an amateur, I don't see how this could happen if just Jupiter and Venus are involved - they are just too far apart physically and there needs to be something that would trigger an ignition.
So, just for grins, let's think about what might happen if this brown dwarf system actually were within our solar system. Could this possibly be something that could trigger an ignition of Jupiter?
I have seen claims that this red dwarf will impact Jupiter. There are also others that say that it will impact Earth - or at least pass close enough by to have devastating effects.
I just got finished reading a thread from this forum from 2010 titled Possibility of igniting Jupiter where I had hoped to get some insight into my questions. I joined this forum so that I could post my questions there, but it's closed, so I started this thread.
To be clear, I'm not asking about Jupiter becoming a star - just about it igniting.
I learned in that other forum that in order for Jupiter to have a significant ignition that it would require an oxidizer. And in order for that ignition to be of any significance, it would require a very significant oxidizer source.
Would a brown dwarf contain enough of a source of oxidizer to cause a significant combustion event? If so, would a collision be enough to trigger that ignition? What could we expect the resulting explosion to be like? What would it look like from earth? What would the effects be on earth?
When confronting wild theories like these, I like to arm my self with scientific information. I may still fail to make a dent in their beliefs, but I can at least say I tried.