Illustration by Don Dixon
Posted on 05/01/2008 9:35:33 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
...planets are the most diverse and intricate class of object in the universe. No other celestial bodies support such a complex interplay of astronomical, geologic, and chemical and biological processes... The worlds of our solar system... hardly prepared us for the discoveries of the past decade, during which astronomers have found more than 200 planets. The sheer diversity of these bodies' masses, sizes, compositions and orbits challenges those of us trying to fathom their origins. When I was in graduate school in the 1970s, we tended to think of planet formation as a well-ordered, deterministic process -- an assembly line that turns amorphous disks of gas and dust into copies of our solar system. Now we are realizing that the process is chaotic, with distinct outcomes for each system. The worlds that emerge are the survivors of a hurly-burly of competing mechanisms of creation and destruction. Many are blasted apart, fed into the fires of their system's newborn star or ejected into interstellar space. Our own Earth may have long-lost siblings that wander through the lightless void.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciam.com ...
Illustration by Don Dixon
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BTTT
Interesting but I’m not paying to read the whole thing.
I was a bit disappointed (but not surprised) that it wasn’t online in entire. I’d already seen and purchased the issue a couple of days ago. :’)
Besides Earth, name one.
No other celestial bodies support such a complex interplay of astronomical, geologic, and chemical and biological processes
Really?
I knew that was speculated, but I hadn't heard it had been confirmed. BTW do you know the name (or other identifying characteristics) of the little, micro-beast?
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I guess we're back to the original, revised, sentence:
'No other celestial bodies support such a complex interplay of astronomical, geologic, and chemical and, in the sole case of Earth, biological processes.'
Right. My take on it was, not that each category applied equally to all planets, but rather that planets are more interesting in each category than are stars. Perhaps not more interesting than debris (asteroids, comets) though. :’)
Planetary System Formation [observed data challenges present theories]
Science | August 8, 2008 | J. C. B. Papaloizou
Posted on 09/08/2008 7:16:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2077835/posts
VERY interesting reading!
The whole process of ‘young’ and forming Solar Systems/planet accretion is quite fascinating. Just think.... None of us may not even be here if a few rocks would have drifted(not sure that’s a proper word) in a different way or another. ;p
You’re correct, it was.
The one I replied with was a link from the comments section down the page that I found to be kind of interesting.
Oh, and you put the link as well. [blush]
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![The Chaotic Genesis of Planets [ FREE PREVIEW ]](http://www.sciam.com/media/inline/2EA0D08F-B89A-C557-6F0116A5E43D125D_1.jpg)