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To: SunkenCiv

What got me thinking about deep space wanderers was the creationist thread about a planet with a retrograde orbit. In my opinion there are only two physical likelihoods.

the planet was hit by a very large object that started it to orbiting the opposite direction of the star or it came from deep space from a direction opposite the star’s rotation and was captured. Retrograde orbits aren’t all that unusual and there is at least one moon in our solar system that orbits in a retrograde orbit around its planet.

Who knows, frozen planets between the galaxies may be the norm.


7 posted on 09/19/2009 9:01:16 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Seniors, the new shovel ready project under socialized medicine.)
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To: cripplecreek

If there’s a planet in retrograde orbit, it is generally considered diagnostic of capture. If a group of moons (for example) are all moving in retrograde (sort of the case with the moons of Uranus, nice example eh?) it probably means the planet rolled over at some point, perhaps due to a large impact.


8 posted on 09/20/2009 3:12:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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