Physicist Suggests Sun's Hidden Twin May Be Linked To Dinosaur Extinction

The extinction of dinosaurs around 66 million years ago has long been linked to a massive space rock hitting Earth. However, physicist Richard Muller of the University of California, Berkeley, has proposed a theory suggesting that a hidden star, believed to be the Sun's twin, may have played a role in sending the object towards our planet. Called Nemesis, the theoretical star is believed to pass near the edge of the solar system every 26 million years, potentially sending large numbers of comets towards Earth, according to the NYPost.

The theory suggests that these comet showers may have caused major events in Earth's history, including the extinction of dinosaurs around 66 million years ago.

Muller believes that Nemesis is a red dwarf star located near the outer edge of the solar system. He has also suggested that the next possible comet shower could occur in about 12 million years.

According to Muller, Nemesis and the Sun orbit a shared centre of gravity. He believes this may explain why the star has not been discovered so far.

The physicist has suggested that Nemesis is difficult to see because it is far away, too dim to be seen with the naked eye and located among many other stars.

Muller theorises that every 26 million years, the star passes close to the Oort Cloud, a large collection of trillions of icy objects at the edge of the solar system. This movement may send large numbers of comets towards the inner solar system, creating a comet shower that could last up to one million years.

The theory is based on a 1982 study that found marine extinctions occurring in a pattern of around 26 million years.

One of these extinction events took place around 66 million years ago, when a space rock hit the area that is now Mexico. The impact caused a global catastrophe that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Walter Alvarez, a Berkeley geologist who developed the impact theory, said scientists could not determine whether the object that hit Earth and caused the dinosaurs' extinction was a comet or an asteroid.

However, the Nemesis theory is not accepted by everyone. A 2014 study by researchers at Penn State University examined data from NASA's WISE infrared telescope but found no evidence of the star.

At the time, astronomer Kevin Luhman, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, said the outer solar system probably did not contain a large gas-giant planet or a small companion star.

Despite this finding, Muller maintains that there is no clear evidence against his theory, as Nemesis may be hidden from view.