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#ESOrumors from the edge of the solar system

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It began with a cryptic announcement of a press conference in Brazil where “an international team of astronomers” would announce “a surprise discovery in the outer solar system.”

If that sounds intriguing to you, you’re not alone. In the 27-odd hours between the time the heads-up reached folks’ email in-boxes and the press conference (which kicks off at 3 p.m. local time (11 a.m. PDT) at Brazil’s National Observatory in Rio de Janeiro), clever people took to Twitter to make their best guesses about what this surprise discovery might be.

The predictions make reference to the ill-fated Comet ISON, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s reboot of “Cosmos,” the Voyager spacecraft and even the 1990s sitcom “Friends.”

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The European Southern Observatory tweeted Wednedsay morning that “Some of your #ESOrumors are really funny. Better than the real thing.” We agree they’re really funny, but the real news (which you can read about later today on Science Now) is pretty awesome too.

Below are some of our favorite predictions:

If you enjoy solar system humor, you like the things I write about. Follow me on Twitter and “like” Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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