Professor Lewis Dartnell, Professor of Science Communication, wrote an article for BBC Sky at Night Magazine about how the formation of planets in the early Solar System has affected the growth of Mars due to dynamic instability.
Professor Dartnell wrote: “Many models commonly produce a fourth planet that is about 10 times more massive than Mars, and also a massive planet in the asteroid belt. There’s clearly something wrong here. Matthew Clement at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, and his colleagues argue that the important detail is when this dynamic instability arose. Over the past few years they have performed a series of studies that indicate the Solar System was thrown into turmoil very early in its history.”
In relation to the study, Professor Dartnell also adds: “This time they have been focusing specifically on how sensitive the outcome for Earth and Mars is to shifts in Jupiter and Saturn’s orbits. They found that such an early instability in the orbital architecture of their modelled Solar Systems invariably truncated the terrestrial disc beyond the Earth-forming region. This stunted the growth of Mars, producing a planet much like the one we find. The early instability also prevented the formation of a large planet between Mars and Jupiter, leaving a suitably depleted asteroid belt.”
Read the full article on the BBC Sky at Night Magazine website.
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