We are republishing an article from 42 years ago, where astronomers discovered the most mysterious object connected to many biblical prophecies. For those of you on our Premium channel, you know what it is and what awaits us. Here is the full text with some clarifications from us:
Washington Post
December 31, 1983
Possibly as Large as Jupiter
Mysterious Heavenly Body Discovered
By Thomas O’Toole Senior Washington Post Staff Writer
A heavenly body possibly as large as the giant planet Jupiter and possibly so close to Earth that it would be part of this solar system has been found in the direction of the constellation Orion by an orbiting telescope aboard the U.S. infrared astronomical satellite.
So mysterious is the object that astronomers do not know if it is a planet, a giant comet, a nearby “protostar” that never got hot enough to become a star, a distant galaxy so young that it is still in the process of forming its first stars or a galaxy so shrouded in dust that none of the light cast by its stars ever gets through.
“All I can tell you is that we don’t know what it is,” Dr. Gerry Neugebauer, IRAS chief scientist for California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and director of the Palomar Observatory for the California Institute of Technology, said in an interview.
The most fascinating explanation of this mystery body, which is so cold it casts no light and has never been seen by optical telescopes on Earth or in space, is that it is a giant gaseous planet as large as Jupiter and as close to Earth as 50 billion miles. While that may seem like a great distance in earthbound terms, it is a stone’s throw in cosmological terms, so close in fact that it would be the nearest heavenly body to Earth beyond the outermost planet Pluto.
“If it is really that close, it would be a part of our solar system,” said Dr. James Houck of Cornell University’s Center for Radio Physics.
Scientific Commentary
This 1983 report, referencing a mysterious celestial object potentially as large as Jupiter, has sparked decades of speculation, including theories about a hidden planet sometimes called “Planet X” or “Nibiru.” However, there is no confirmed discovery of such a planet to date.
Protostar: A protostar is a young star still in the process of forming. It is created when gas and dust collapse under gravity in a molecular cloud. It hasn’t started nuclear fusion yet, which defines a true star.
Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS): The discovery mentioned was linked to the IRAS mission, launched in 1983 to scan the sky in infrared. Infrared allows astronomers to detect objects obscured by cosmic dust that are invisible in visible light.
50 billion miles (or ~538 AU): This distance is far beyond Pluto (which is about 39 AU from the Sun). An object at that range would be in the realm of the hypothesized Oort Cloud.
Significance: While no such massive planet has been confirmed, the idea has influenced searches for a “Planet Nine,” a theoretical planet proposed to explain gravitational effects on distant Kuiper Belt objects.
Overall, this article remains a curious historical piece that reflects both the excitement and the mysteries in the field of astronomy.
Trade with the best technical and fundamental analysis
Premium registration gives broad access to all publications related to understanding the world. What and why is happening, as well as what is about to happen. You will know the truth, which will give you great advantages over all others.
Premium Plus Membership
In addition to the standard Premium subscription, in Premium Plus you will have access to our world news, which is unique. The news connects different events and analyzes why and what will happen. Only here will you find out the truth about the news.
