How does the nebular hypothesis for our solar system formation account for the presence of several moons around the outer solar system planets? Does it also explain why these moons are so different from each other?
2006-11-13 17:50:40 · 3 answers · asked by victimofthekillers 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
You can think of the formation of the gas giants as mini-nebular events like the one the formed the larger solar system. Your instructor is fishing for you to compare the gas giant systems to mini solar systems. He/she is also asking you to evaluate differentiation between the smaller orbital radius moons and the larger orbital radius moons (more lighter elements further away from the central mass, because the nebula was cooler out there). I think this is a weak argument, but it has some ammo if you look closely at the Galilean satellites. Ultimately, the radial temperature profile in the proto-Jupiter nebula is not necessarily the biggest factor in differentiation, however probably played some role.
2006-11-14 02:25:19 · answer #1 · answered by Mr. Quark 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer turns out to be physics.The larger the planet then the more moons it will have because a larger planets superior gravitational force enables it to attract more accreted matter during solar system formation than a smaller planet.
Keep in mind to that the planets go through inner and outer changes over time as well as their moons.These past changes account for current differences.
2006-11-13 20:32:28 · answer #2 · answered by tx_buffalo_matador 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is your point here?
Presence of moons can be accounted for by different factors. They might be pieces of gas-clouds cut off from planets OR they might have been formed by a process similar to formation of planets.
2006-11-13 17:56:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋