New Planet WASP-17….I know…I know…The first thing I thought of when I heard the news was Mork calling Orson or perhaps an old Ed Wood reel had been found and we were in for a cinematic treat. I even checked the calender to make sure that it wasn’t some kind of Orson Wells “War Of The Worlds” blunder but sure enough a new planet called WASP-17 has been discovered. This new planet is 1,000 light years away from Earth and is about 2 times as colossal as the giant Jupiter. I suppose it’s like losing one friend and making another because so many folks were heartbroken at the loss of little Pluto most likely because of the Walt Disney namesake and the affection he brings to the hearts of people.
Not only do we get a replacement for the defunct neglected planet Pluto but the new planet WASP-17 is also a lot more fun in a funky warped kind of way. You see, WASP-17 orbits backwards like the teenage kid who dyes his hair to be different and he is baffling the heck out of scientists. The best they could come up with was that the planet must have had some kind of a gravitational “close Encounter” which pretty much doesn’t explain too much at all. I suppose it’s like the planet that got in with the wrong crowd!
Scientists have admitted that WASP-17 is among the oddest planets that they have ever discovered. This planet drawn by an artist from what he perceived it to look was like a small orange ball in the foreground of a bigger sun-like fiery ball of molten flames. I suppose a new funky planet has to look spectacular in order to be accepted. The team of scientists who discovered WASP-17 were taking pictures with an array of cameras which look for changes in light in order to discover new planets by observing stars and watching for any masses their cross their paths.
But seriously, any such new scientific discovery like WASP-17 is bound to cause joy among all mankind because it shows us that we have only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discovering the mysteries and content of our vast universe. The fact the we are still discovering new planets is amazing but we must also remember that our own little blue planet still has much to offer in the way of new discoveries and although WASP-17 is a highly significant find it still remains a million miles away for regular inhabitants of planet Earth.
