2004/12/01 by Scott J. Kenyon, Benjamin C. Bromley · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Exoplanet #Neptune #Orbit (dynamics) #Orbital eccentricity #Physics #Planet #Planetary Science and Exploration #Planetary system #Population #Solar System #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Trans-Neptunian object #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/nature03136
published as Nature 432 (2004) 598 · 9 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2004/12/01 · openalex publication_date 2004/12/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The discovery of Sedna places new constraints on the origin and evolution of our solar system. Here we investigate the possibility that a close encounter with another star produced the observed edge of the Kuiper belt, at roughly 50 AU, and the highly elliptical orbit of Sedna. We show that a passing star probably scattered Sedna from the Kuiper Belt into its observed orbit. The likelihood that a planet at 60-80 AU can be scattered into Sedna's orbit is roughly 50%; this estimate depends critically on the geometry of the flyby. Even more interesting, though, is the roughly 10% chance that Sedna was captured from the outer disk of the passing star. Most captures have very high inclination orbits; detection of these objects would confirm the presence of extrasolar planets in our own Solar System.