Real life sci-fi: Massive exoplanet booted out of home by binary parents – then slipped back inside by passing friendly stars

Stars whizzing by planets can wreak havoc by knocking their orbits out of place or kicking them out of their systems entirely, according to a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal. The conclusion could explain how bizarre objects like the spliff-shaped asteroid ‘Oumuamua ended up being flung into our own Solar System. …

[redpawn]

Good Samaritans

returned the abused planet to its parents God knows what will happen to it now. They should have called Planet Protective Services instead.

[Will Godfrey]

Re: Good Samaritans

But was it kicked out, or was it the 'prodigal' planet who left with it's inheritance, then limped back when it ran out of gas?

[macjules]

Re: Good Samaritans

It was knocked out of its orbit by a Plasma Bug blast.

[Michael H.F. Wilkinson]

Could have been worse

The planet could have been knocked into a black hole in an intergalactic game of billiards

I'll get me coat. Doffs hat to the late, great Douglas Adams

[STOP_FORTH]

Probability

There is no proof that this planet originated in the solar system it is currently bound to. Is it not just as likely that it was originally part of the other binary system, was kicked out and then captured by the binary system it is now residing in?

(Straight in rather than "in off" in HHGTTG universe.)

[mr.K]

Re: Probability

Not knowing for sure, I imagine at least that for a planet to be captured by another system is unlikely. The reason for this is that any object falling from the outside into the gravity well of a body will fall out again unless it somehow looses some of it's energy. The same way any object originating inside a gravity well will remain there.

Now you can easily construct a scenario where the object part of some of it's velocity to another object already there. All encounters in space can be regarded as elastic collisions (part of actually collisions of course) meaning that both momentum and kinetic energy will be conserved. But can part with enough energy to another object, either ejecting that one or at least give it a greater orbit. But this one is a massive object and if it originating from the other system it would have high relative velocity. The chance is slim that it managed to encounter some planet there, matching it's orbit to such a fine detail that it lost just enough velocity to remain there.

So, yeah, possible, still at least not just as likely.

[Christoph]

Or possibly it originated from the other binary system and was later captured by the one it's in now? Is there any way to tell?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, there is a way to tell.

The scientists studied the motions and movements of the planet and loads of stars in the area, and figured out through maths and stuff that the planet had originated in the solar system they said it originated in, was ejected, and then kicked back in by the other binary system.

I mean, I'm pretty sure the point of this article was to highlight that this was the conclusion of a series of scientific investigations, not preliminary thoughts on what might be happening. Thus the story painted is the way to tell what happened.

[Tom 64]

Oumuamua

That was like, really far out, man

[arctic_haze]

I'll bet that the inhabitants of that system call it now Nibiru.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re. Nibiru

More likely, the resultant mass extinction sent them back to the lade Ordovician.

On the flip side, real estate prices are now not an issue.