Formation and evolution of a circumterrestrial disk Constraints on the origin of the moon in geocentric orbitA data base of about 25,000 numerically integrated trajectories of earth-encountering planetesimals is used to study the angular momentum problem of forming the moon out of material captured into a circumterrestrial disk from heliocentric orbits. Mass-orbital element distributions of incoming planetesimals are combined with this data base to calculate, as a function of distance from earth, the net geocentric specific angular momentum of disk-encountering material on heliocentric orbits. Results suggest that a permanent disk population is not possible.
Document ID
19870033372
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Herbert, Floyd (Arizona, University Tucson, United States)
Davis, Donald R. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Weidenschilling, Stuart J. (Planetary Science Institute Tucson, United States)