NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Formation of the outer planets and satellitesA mechanism for the formation of the outer planets is proposed, the basis of which is the idea that the giant planets contain an excess of chemically condensable materials over solar composition. Planetary cores were formed by the clumping together of chemically condensed bodies forming a thin disk in the solar nebula. Gas surrounding a core becomes unstable against collapse onto the core. In the case of Jupiter and Saturn, much of the collapsing gas goes into orbit about the formed planet, forming a relatively thin circumplanetary disks with differential rotation in the prograde sense. For Uranus and Neptune, the dynamical collapse mechanism is unlikely. A disk of gas around Uranus may have been formed during a collision of the protoplanet with a large body. The circumplanetary disks then form the basis for formation of satellite systems, in which the Goldreich-Ward instability mechanism plays a role.
Document ID
19770058142
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Other - Collected Works
Authors
Cameron, A. G. W.
(Harvard College Observatory Cambridge, Mass., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1977
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
77A40994
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available