Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!sri-unix!REM@MIT-MC From: REM%MIT-MC@sri-unix.UUCP Newsgroups: net.space Subject: Death Star? Message-ID: <17366@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Fri, 9-Mar-84 07:19:00 EST Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.17366 Posted: Fri Mar 9 07:19:00 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 00:47:46 EST Lines: 15 From: Robert Elton MaasAbout a week apart I heard two new theories about cretaceous extinction et al: (1) Sun orbits galaxy out of plane, crossing the plane twice each orbit, during which time the chance of passing by another star (which disturbs Oort cloud) is enhanced; (2) Sun has companion "death star" in long ellyptical orbit, which disturbs Oort cloud at each perihelion. Neither theory mentionned the other as an alternative, and both are explained by exactly the same data, the periodicity of major extinctions. So as far as I can tell it's a "ratings week" on TV news and/or a big-lie battle between scientists, with no way to distinguish the two theories (or should I say two flavors of one theory) that they are willing to reveal to us J.Q.Public.