3 ms·
From a numeric standpoint, this seems like a reasonable conclusion. For the system we know well, there are eight times as many planets as there are stars. A lot
by ISL 6y ago
From a numeric standpoint, this seems like a reasonable conclusion. For the system we know well, there are eight times as many planets as there are stars. A lot of systems in which exoplanets have been observed are known to have more than one planet.
The only way this is unlikely to be the case is if planets remain strongly-bound to stars.
- hliyan 6y agoAlso from an intuition / thought experiment standpoint: stars form through coalescing mass. Only a subset of such coalescing masses reach the special conditions needed for fusion ignition. It follows that the general case is that of masses that fall short of that threshold.
- dreamcompiler 6y agoIt seems to be the case that most gravitationally-significant bodies sustain a planar ring system, and that over time the matter in the ring coalesces into moons. Earth is but a pebble in the Sun's ring.