Lost Companions: Investigating the Existence of the Nemesis Star

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In summary, the Nemesis star is a concept that originated in the 1980s but is now considered obsolete by scientists. It was thought to be a possible companion star to the Sun, but it is believed to have left the Solar System more than 4 billion years ago. Due to the nature of stellar nurseries and open star clusters, it is possible that the Sun had a companion star that was lost shortly after formation. However, it is no longer considered a possibility by scientists.
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Jupiter60
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Nemesis star
Does the Nemesis star really exist? I don't think it does. If the Sun had a companion star it should have been detected by now. Stars don't go hidden.
 
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It exists only as a concept, in our imagination.
 
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I'm sure you started with a web/Wikipedia search. What did you learn and what do you still need help understanding?
 
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If it does exist, one would have to ask how it has evaded our efforts to detect it. It is either very, very dim, which would mean it's probably NOT a star, its very far away, which would mean its NOT a companion of our Sun, is blocked by something like dust, which would obscure background stars and allow us to see this dust cloud (plus we can see through with infrared telescopes), or has somehow just hasn't been seen, which would mean that it would have to be somewhere in the sky where our astrometric telescopes and space probes (the ones that measure stellar distances) aren't looking.
 
  • #5
The nice rhing about the Wikipedia article is that it discusses what is and is not excluded., A star almost certainly. A big, cold planet*, not so much.

* Technically, under the de-planetification-of-Pluto ruling, this would not be a planet, since it has not cleared its neighborhood. It would be a "dwarf planet", even though it could be bigger than Jupiter.
 
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I just had a look at the Wikipedia article on Nemesis. It says that in 2017 that some scientist said that thought that the Sun may have had a companion star in the past, but it left the Solar System more than 4 billion years ago. This is a possibility. The reason why we would not be able to detect the historical companion star is because it is no longer a companion star, but got separated.

The Nemesis hypothesis originated in the 1980s and it was considered a serious possibility back then, however nowadays it is considered obsolete. Scientists today don't believe Nemesis to be a possibility.
 
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Jupiter60 said:
I just had a look at the Wikipedia article on Nemesis. It says that in 2017 that some scientist said that thought that the Sun may have had a companion star in the past, but it left the Solar System more than 4 billion years ago. This is a possibility. The reason why we would not be able to detect the historical companion star is because it is no longer a companion star, but got separated.
Indeed. Stellar nurseries often form dozens, hundreds, or thousands of stars in a confined area. It would be no surprise if the Sun had a close companion that was lost shortly after formation. Open star clusters, which is where the Sun likely formed, tend to 'disintegrate' over time.
 

1. What is the Nemesis star?

The Nemesis star, also known as the "death star" or "doomsday star", is a hypothetical companion star to our Sun that is believed to orbit at a great distance and have a significant influence on the outer regions of our solar system.

2. How was the idea of the Nemesis star proposed?

The idea of the Nemesis star was first proposed in the 1980s by scientists Richard A. Muller and Daniel P. Whitmire to explain the periodic mass extinctions on Earth. They suggested that the gravitational pull of the Nemesis star could cause disturbances in the Oort cloud, leading to comet showers and catastrophic events on Earth.

3. Is there any evidence for the existence of the Nemesis star?

Despite extensive research and numerous studies, no concrete evidence has been found to support the existence of the Nemesis star. Some scientists have proposed that the supposed effects of the Nemesis star on our solar system can be explained by other factors, such as the gravitational influence of passing stars or the natural cycles of the Sun.

4. What is the current scientific consensus on the existence of the Nemesis star?

The majority of scientists do not believe that the Nemesis star exists. The lack of evidence and the inability to detect such a distant and faint object make it highly unlikely. Additionally, the proposed effects of the Nemesis star on our solar system have been challenged by alternative explanations.

5. Could the Nemesis star pose a threat to Earth?

Even if the Nemesis star were to exist, it would be too far away to have any significant impact on Earth. The proposed effects of the Nemesis star, such as comet showers, occur on a timescale of millions of years, making it an unlikely threat to our planet. Furthermore, the lack of evidence for its existence further diminishes the possibility of it posing a danger to Earth.

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