On The Origin Of Planets: By Means Of Natural Simple Processes

By Means of Natural Simple Processes

Michael Mark Woolfson

• Publisher: ICP
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781848165984, 9781848165984
• eBook ISBN: 9781848166004
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Astronomy & Astrophysics

The book begins with a historical review of four major theories for the origin of the Solar System in particular, or of planets in general, which highlight the major problems that need to be solved by any plausible theory. In many theories, including that which form the major theme of this book, the formation of planets and stars is intimately linked, so four chapters are devoted to the processes that can be described as the birth, life and death of stars.Recent observations that have revealed the existence of planets around many Sun-like stars are described in detail, followed by a clear exposition of the Capture Theory for the origin of planets. Many aspects of this theory are illustrated with sophisticated computer modelling that convincingly demonstrates the plausibility of the theory. The Capture Theory is in complete accord with all observations, including the estimate it gives for the proportion of Sun-like stars with planets. It is the only theory that sits comfortably with all present observational and theoretical constraints.The general theory of planet formation does not explain the detailed structure of the Solar System. An early postulated collision of two major planets is shown to explain many disparate features of the Solar System — the nature of the terrestrial planets, surface features of the Moon and its relationship with Earth, asteroids, comets and dwarf planets, the relationship between Neptune, Triton and Pluto and the characteristics of meteorites, including the isotopic anomalies found in them. The postulate of a planetary collision is given support by a 2009 NASA observation of the residue of such an event around a distant young star.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface
• An Historical Sketch of the Progress of Opinion on the Origin of Planets
• 1. Observations of Stars
• 2. Producing Protostars — Embryonic Stars
• 3. The Life and Death of a Star
• 4. The Evolution of a Galactic Cluster
• 5. Exoplanets — Planets Around Other Stars
• 6. The Formation of Planets: The Capture Theory
• 7. Orbital Evolution
• 8. The Frequency of Planetary Systems
• 9. Satellite Formation
• 10. Features of the Solar System
• 11. Interactions Between Planets
• 12. The Moon
• 13. Mars and Mercury
• 14. Neptune, Triton and Pluto
• 15. Dwarf Planets, Asteroids, Comets and the Kuiper Belt
• 16. Meteorites: Their Physical and Chemical Properties
• 17. Isotopic Anomalies in Meteorites
• 18. Overview and Conclusions
• Appendix A: Angular Momentum
• Appendix B: Equipotential Surfaces of a Tidally Distorted Star
• Appendix C: The Instability of a Gaseous Filament
• Appendix D: The Jeans Critical Mass
• Appendix E: The Lynden-Bell and Pringle Mechanism
• Appendix F: Grains in Molecular Clouds
• Appendix G: The Structure of a Spiral Galaxy
• Appendix H: The Centre of Mass and the Orbits of Binary Stars
• Appendix I: The Doppler Effect
• Appendix J: Atomic Energy Levels and Stellar Spectra
• Appendix K: Stellar Masses from Observations of Binary Systems
• Appendix L: Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics
• Appendix M: Free-Fall Collapse
• Appendix N: Fragmentation and Binary Characteristics
• Appendix O: Spin Slowing Due to a Stellar wind
• Appendix P: The Virial Theorem and Kelvin–Helmholtz Contraction
• Appendix Q: The Lifetime of Stars on the Main Sequence
• Appendix R: The Eddington Accretion Mechanism
• Appendix S: The Mass and Orbit of an Exoplanet
• Appendix T: Radiation Pressure and the Poynting–Robertson Effect
• Appendix U: Active Stars and Their Effect on a Stellar Disk
• Appendix V: The Structure and Decay of a Stellar Disk
• Appendix W: The Formation of Exoplanets
• Appendix X: Disrupting a Planetary System
• Appendix Y: From Dust to Satellitesimals
• Appendix Z: From Satellitesimals to Satellites
• Appendix AA: The Tidal Heating of Io
• Appendix AB: The Trojan Asteroids
• Appendix AC: Orbital Precession
• Appendix AD: The Temperature Generated by Colliding Planets
• Appendix AE: Heating by Deuterium-Based Reactions
• Appendix AF: The Thermal Evolution of the Moon
• Appendix AG: The Abrasion of a Hemisphere of the Moon
• Appendix AH: The Rounding-off of a Highly Eccentric Satellite Orbit
• Appendix AI: Continental Drift on Mars
• Appendix AJ: The Oort Cloud and Perturbing Stars
• Appendix AK: Planetary Perturbation of New Comets
• Appendix AL: Reactions and Decays
• Appendix AM: Cooling and Grain Formation
• Index