Discovery 2008The hypothesis suggests that collisions between large objects like Pluto and Eris and others out in the Kuiper belt played a much larger role in sculpting these objects than anyone previously thought, and, in particular, the collisions removed much of the ice that these cold objects would have had in their interiors... For my hypothesis there are two tests. The first is to show that a giant collision indeed removes ice. The second is to show that an object that has a lot of ice didn't have a giant collision... In my hypothesis, this giant collision that happened on Quaoar long ago should have removed most of the ice inside of Quaoar, meaning that the interior should be much more rock than ice... If Quaoar is heavy and rock-like, [its] moon will be pulled along quickly, while if Quaoar has more ice and is lighter, the moon will take longer to go around... Another giant Kuiper belt objet and dwarf planet, Orcus..., also has a moon... For my hypothesis to be correct, this moon must be captured, because otherwise my hypothesis would predict that Orcus should be rocky, not icy... Like the first test, the results of this second test will be apparent almost instantly. In only a few hours I should be able to figure out what the moon of Orcus has on its surface. If the moon of Orcus looks like it was made in a collision I will again have to toss the hypothesis out. But if the moon appears captured, the hypothesis will have survived two important tests, and it will suddenly have to be considered seriously.
Mike Brown's Planets
Monday, December 31, 2007
I think he's trying to say this is hugh and series, isn't he?