Evidence for Nemesis: a solar companion star
Description/Abstract
The evidence that the sun has a companion star ''Nemesis'' responsible for periodic mass extinctions is reviewed. A gaussian ideogram of the rates of family extinctions in the oceans shows periods of 26 and 30 Myr. Analysis of impact cratering on the earth shows a period of either 28.4 or 30 Myr, depending on the crater selection. Models which attempt to explain these periods with either oscillations through the galactic plane, or through the effects of a tenth planet, are seriously flawed. If the periods seen in the data are real (and not a spurious result of a statistical fluctuation) then the ''Nemesis hypothesis'' is the only suggested explanation that has survived close scrutiny. The Nemesis model predicts that the impacts took place during brief storms of several million years duration, perhaps accounting for the ''extended'' nature of the mass extinctions. A search for Nemesis is under way at Berkeley. 18 refs., 4 figs.
| Creator/Author: | Muller, R.A. |
|---|---|
| Publication Date: | 1985 Jan 01 |
| OSTI Identifier: | OSTI ID: 6449152; Legacy ID: DE86003991 |
| Report Number(s): | LBL-20438; CONF-850183-1 |
| DOE Contract Number: | AC03-76SF00098 |
| Other Number(s): | Other: ON: DE86003991 |
| Resource Type: | Conference |
| Specific Type: | Technical Report |
| Resource Relation: | Conference: Conference on the galaxy and the solar system, Tucson, AZ, USA, 10 Jan 1985 |
| Research Org: | Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA) |
| Subject: | 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; EARTH PLANET; PLANETARY EVOLUTION; SUN; BINARY STARS; MAIN SEQUENCE STARS; PLANETS; SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION; STARS |
| Country of Publication: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Format: | Size: Pages: 20 |
| Availability: | NTIS, PC A02/MF A01. |
| Update Date: | 2009 Dec 14 |
Full Text
342 K
View Full Text
or Access Individual Pages
search, view and/or download individual pages
Cite
Select a citation type to copy/paste or download the reference.
