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A comment on There's One Last Place Planet 9 Could Be Hiding. Parent comment

Re:There's One Last Place Planet 9 Could Be Hiding by halfcat on Monday February 19, 2024 @03:09PM (#39434163)
There’s a difference between completing 80% of the work, and ruling out 80% of the options.

We could rule out 80% of the options and still have 99% of the work yet to be completed.

Like if we’re looking for a bacteria on the land surface of the earth, and we rule out 80% of the options, that leaves us with searching an area the size of Africa for a microscopic life form.

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Re:There's One Last Place Planet 9 Could Be Hiding by medstrom on Monday February 19, 2024 @05:57PM (#39435834)
Doesn't change the fact that whatever probability you previously assigned to finding Planet 9, it should be one fifth of that now. (Sort of. Not so drastic if you have strong reasons to think there is a Planet 9)
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Re:There's One Last Place Planet 9 Could Be Hiding by seeknotfind on Monday February 19, 2024 @11:41PM (#39438128)
The suggestion is maybe part of the sky is easier to survey, so it was completed cheaply, even though that part wasn't the most likely part. I don't know which way it is, but it's an interesting question, and that's what OP is getting at for understanding the relevant probabilities instead of the relevant area.
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