Nyrath Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Spitzer_Observes_A_Chaotic_Planetary_System_999.html Before our planets found their way to the stable orbits they circle in today, they wiggled and jostled about like unsettled children. Now, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a young star with evidence for the same kind of orbital hyperactivity. Young planets circling the star are thought to be disturbing smaller comet-like bodies, causing them to collide and kick up a huge halo of dust. It's a cosmic demolition derby, only with asteroids instead of cars. What a pity for your stable of players that the Cosmic McGuffin of Ultimate Desirability is located right in the thick of things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Re: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System But the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Re: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System But the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand' date=' seven hundred and twenty to one![/quote'] Never quote me the odds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DusterBoy Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Re: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System Except that a real asteroid field, the asteroids aren't whizzing about like pinballs and there is plenty of space between them to fly your modified freighter. Nor is there enough mass in an asteroid belt to form any kind of decent-sized planet, even one the size of Mercury or Pluto (which is still a planet in my book). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Re: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System That's true for our asteroid belt -- and probably our Kuiper belt -- at this time, which is 4.5 Gyr since the system formed. It is very clear that there's been significant evolution of both populations of small bodies, and what we have now is drastically reduced from the original population. HR 8799 is a rather younger system, and it seems that the evolutionary processes affecting those populations of lesser bodies are in operation at this time -- and it would be quite interesting to know how much mass was there to start off with, or at least how much there is now at this point in that system's evolution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Re: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System And if giant worms have evolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mackinder Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 Re: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System And if giant worms have evolved. And, borrowing a line a friend once used about another SF setting - "If those are worms, then just how big are the damn birds?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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