3 ms·
> Of course, we don't know how many sibling planets crashed into their sun earlier... My understanding is that it would be 0. A planet can't fall into its sun
by digging 3y ago
> Of course, we don't know how many sibling planets crashed into their sun earlier...
My understanding is that it would be 0. A planet can't fall into its sun without being disturbed, because the planets and their sun all coalesce from the same rotating disc of material. If any planet had been disturbed enough to slow down and crash into the sun, it's hard to imagine that happening without the slightest disturbance to the 6 extant planets.
- stouset 3y agoMain belt asteroids and comets are perturbed out of their orbits all the time. Why would planets be meaningfully different?
- digging 3y agoBecause there's evidence that they weren't.
- djbusby 3y agoCould have been 7 or 9 wonky planets, then some fell into their sun and maybe one flew off or was torn apart then these remaining six wiggled around a bit from all that into resonance. Space has, like, infinite possibilities.
- digging 3y agoCould be, but I don't think it's likely, which is why the article states that these planets have probably all been in their orbits since formation.
- BurningFrog 3y agoAfter the initial disturbance, the remaining planets would find a new equilibrium, which might be the current resonance situation.