Solar System Billiards
I don't often write about my interest in space exploration. It usually takes a backseat to others more terrestrial concerns. I have, however, put William E. Burrows' This New Ocean : The Story of the First Space Age on my reading list.
So, here's an interesting theory about Mercury, the innermost planet in the solar system that NASA's Messenger will observe:
Mercury's high density, small size, and other aspects of its structure make it possible that it formed elsewhere in the solar system, some say. The idea is driven in large part by what astronomers have seen in other solar systems: Gas-giant planets that orbit so close to their parent star that there is no plausible explanation for how they could have formed there.
Mercury could have formed out near the orbit of Mars, then gotten smacked by another large object. The impact would have knocked off much of Mercury's original surface. And it would have triggered Mercury's migration to its current orbit.
Hmmm...
Pluto is no longer a planet, and now Mercury is an alien body? Is all this conjecture part of a conspiracy to avoid talking about Earth?
Sphere: Related Content
Barrapunto
CoRank Español
Delicious
Enchílame
Fresqui Ocio
Furl
Google Bookmarks
Menéame
Netscape
Newsvine
Stumbleupon
Technorati Favorites
Yahoo MyWeb
2 comments
No trackbacks
RSS 2.0
Bloglines
Live
MyAOL
Netvibes
Newsgator
Rojo
