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How Pluto walks a tightrope between a stable and chaotic orbit – Space.com

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Pluto is lucky to exist in the orbit that it does, according to new computer simulations that show how the dwarf planet skirts near a chaotic orbit that could potentially destroy the beloved world.

The former ninth planet, now considered a dwarf planet, has an unusual orbit that is highly elongated and tilted with respect to the orbits of the planets. For 20 years of its 248-year journey around the sun, Pluto actually moves inside Neptune‘s orbit. That they never collide is a consequence of two properties of Pluto’s orbit, known as azimuthal libration and latitude libration.

Azimuthal libration describes how, whenever Pluto crosses Neptune’s orbit, it is always at least 90 degrees away from Neptune. Meanwhile, latitude libration ensures that when Pluto reaches its closest point to Neptune or the other giant planets, it is always high above them and the plane of the solar system. Combined, these two factors keep Pluto out of harm’s way.

Related: The most amazing photos from NASA’s New Horizons

Now planetary scientists Renu Malhotra of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona and Takashi Ito of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan have developed a greater understanding of why Pluto survives in this particular orbit.

In computer simulations they found that Neptune, unsurprisingly, has the greatest influence on Pluto’s azimuthal libration, a consequence of the two planets’ 3:2 orbital resonance, which dictates that for every three times Neptune orbits the sun, Pluto orbits exactly twice. However, the simulations suggest that Neptune does not greatly influence Pluto’s latitudinal libration. 

Throw the gravity of Uranus into the mix, and things take a downturn — Uranus acts to destabilize both the azimuthal and latitudinal constraints. If Pluto’s orbit were a consequence of the effects of just these two planets, it would have become unstable after just tens or hundreds of millions of years, resulting in Pluto either colliding with Neptune, — or more likely — being ejected out of the solar system entirely.

Pluto’s orbit (seen here in yellow) is highly inclined and actually ducks inside Neptune’s orbit.  (Image credit: NASA)

It’s Jupiter, and to a lesser degree Saturn, that come to Pluto’s rescue. Despite being farther from Pluto than Neptune and Uranus, their gravity is so great that they can still dominate. Jupiter alone provides sufficient gravitational influence to keep Pluto’s orbit stable for at least 5 billion years — the length of time that the simulations ran for.

What’s striking about this new work is how narrow this zone of stability is for Pluto, and how the dwarf planet has only been able to achieve it thanks to the chance arrangement of planets in the solar system. 

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The findings also have consequences for objects in similar orbits to Pluto’s that also have a 3:2 resonance with Neptune. Since the orbits of various populations of small objects in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune retain the imprint of how they were pushed around by the migrating gas giants in the early days of the solar system, they provide a unique window into the history of the solar system. Their orbits could potentially hide evidence for the existence of lost planets that were ejected from the Solar System billions of years ago, say Malhotra and Ito.

The results were published on March 31 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Follow Keith Cooper on Twitter @21stCenturySETI. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.  

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The body of a Ugandan Olympic athlete who was set on fire by her partner is received by family

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.

Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.

She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.

Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.

“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.

It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.

Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.

Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.

“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.

He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.

Kenya’s high rates of violence against women have prompted marches by ordinary citizens in towns and cities this year.

Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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The ancient jar smashed by a 4-year-old is back on display at an Israeli museum after repair

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.

Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.

Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.

The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.

The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.

It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.

Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.

Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.

Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.

Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.

Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.

The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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B.C. sets up a panel on bear deaths, will review conservation officer training

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VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.

Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”

Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.

“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.

B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.

Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.

Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.

Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.

“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”

Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”

“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.

Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.

“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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