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Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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ams3818
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Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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15/06/2009 17:04:24 »
In regards to planetary evolution in our Solar System I have a theory that seems to go against what most scientists believe. Having pondered it for several years I felt I should at least put it out there for discussion. I've looked for similar theories in journals and online but have found nothing. I have no proof of this theory beyond what I speculate here. I have never formally studied astronomy nor have I spent a great deal of time researching the subject. I am not a scientist and I have never worked in a scientific field. I am a graphic artist who sometimes looks at the world from a different perspective.
So, that being said here it is...
MY THEORY:
I theorize that the solar system was not created all at once from a cloud of dust as modern scientists propose. Instead I propose that the planets are evolving as they approach the sun and each planet as we know it represents a different stage in the life of a planet. I propose that each planet in our solar system had, has, or will have the ability to support life. It’s possible that there were planets in our solar system billions of years ago that have since been absorbed into the Sun while there are new planets that are forming or will eventually form in our solar system.
MY REASONING:
Each year the Earth moves approximately 1 inch closer to the Sun. This applies to all the planets, that as time progresses each planet moves closer to the Sun. Looking at the planets themselves and their order from furthest to closest to the Sun it seems to me that we are looking at the progression of a planet in various stages from life to death.
STAGE 1: THE BEGINNING
Looking at our solar system we know that there are objects that orbit the Sun even beyond Pluto. I believe these objects to be the origin of a planet. Over time they will gather dust and rock and space debris, they and eventually form into a small mass that has rotation and slight gravity. As the mass grows larger it begins to orbit the Sun in an irregular planetary orbit similar to Pluto. It's not quite a perfect orbit yet but in Pluto we now have the beginnings of a planet on a journey to the Sun.
STAGE 2: THE GAS GIANTS
1) PLUTO TO NEPTUNE - As Pluto continues to get pulled toward the Sun it will enter a new phase in its evolution, the dust and debris that it picks up will form gasses, the planet’s gravity will pull more gasses and dust into it eventually growing to a size of Neptune. Some of the smaller dwarf planets that we see will be absorbed into this new planet while others will become its moons. A small ring of dust and debris will begin to form and the result will be what we now know as Neptune.
2) NEPTUNE TO URANUS - As Neptune moves closer to the Sun its rotation and gravity become more intense and the gasses become denser. The once solid core is now under extreme pressure and is becoming heated. The outer rings have built momentum and are now denser than before. More moons are formed from the dust and debris, the planet's gravity increases and its density increases. Eventually Neptune will look very similar to Uranus.
3) URANUS TO SATURN - As Uranus moves closer to the Sun we now start to see a clear ring pattern of rock and debris. There are a great number of moons and the surface of the planet starts to react to the Sun's heat. New gasses evolve out of older dense gasses and we start to see a change on the planet's gas surface. It is in the 'Saturn' stage of the planets that I believe is the turning point of a planet. We are beginning to see the end of the first phase of planets and the beginning of the 'life' phase of the planets meaning that from here on out the planets are on a path that will eventually sustain life.
STAGE 3: A SOLID PLANET IS BORN
1) SATURN TO JUPITER - As Saturn moves closer to the Sun something dramatic happens. The rotation starts to slow, the debris in the rings collide with each other and the dust and debris are pulled into the planet, the planet grows almost double in size and the gasses cause great storms and chaos. The planets gravitation is so intense that a molten core starts to form from the gasses. It's my theory that Jupiter is really the 'birth' phase of the inner planets as we know them.
2) JUPITER TO MARS - As Jupiter moves closer to the Sun the outer gasses begin to burn up. The planet's inner rotation begins to slow and the moons collide with each other. The planet itself is bombarded with asteroids and debris. Some debris is kicked up to form new asteroids while other debris forms a larger solid surface around the molten core. What emerges is a solid planet with a molten core, the remaining gasses form an atmosphere and ice is formed below the surface. The planet is still extremely chaotic but we start to see beginnings of what will eventually support life. The end result is what we know as Mars.
STAGE 4: LIFE SUSTAINABLE PLANETS
1) MARS TO EARTH - As Mars moves closer to the Sun the ice under the core starts to melt forming oceans. The molten core starts to expand and volcanic activity starts to take place. The chaos on the surface begins to settle and a sustainable atmosphere is created. The planet can eventually sustain life as the conditions become more like Earth the closer it gets to the Sun. I believe that Jurassic periods of earth started as the Earth was slightly further away from the Sun than it is today, the temperatures were colder and better suited for cold blooded creatures to rule the earth. As the Earth moved closer to the Sun it was able to support smaller warm blooded creatures better resulting in the planetary conditions that we have today.
STAGE 5: DEATH OF A PLANET
1) EARTH TO VENUS - As Earth moves closer to the Sun it will eventually no longer be able to support life. The atmosphere which supports and gives us life will have a greenhouse effect as we get closer to the Sun and the oxygen that we breathe will become a noxious gas. The rotation of the planet will slow more and our moon will eventually break up. Debris will fall to the planet surface covering any trace that life ever existed and the dust clouds will block any visible surface. The oceans will evaporate and gasses will consume the planet.
2) VENUS TO MERCURY - As Venus moves closer to the Sun the gasses will burn off. The surface will burn and collapse and the molten core will die. We now have a planet in its last phase of life. The core (roughly the same size as its origin - Pluto) is a dead mass waiting to die.
3) MERCURY TO THE SUN - Mercury will eventually be absorbed into the Sun never to be seen again. A new string of planets is now the solar system.
SUMMARY:
When you look at the planets and dwarf planets that make up our solar system what we are really seeing is the planetary evolution process from birth to death. Each planet as we know them is in a different stage of the planet's life. Earth was once a mass of ice and debris similar to what we know as Pluto and went through all of the stages of the outer planets building gas and rings and moons eventually ending up with a life sustaining planet. Venus was Earths predecessor and Mars is next in line. New planets that are only at the beginning stages of existence are starting to form and will eventually support life. The planetary evolution cycle will continue until the Sun dies out or eventually gets pulled into the center of the galaxy.
Thoughts?
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Last Edit: 15/06/2009 18:17:41 by ams3818
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Vern
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Re: Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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Reply #1 on:
15/06/2009 18:02:55 »
Is there any reason for the age of the sun to change other than that it is needed to satisfy your hypothesis? The fusion process that fuels the sun works out pretty well to fit the established age. The conversion rate from hydrogen to helium is known very well. A different age would require a process that is not observed.
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ams3818
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Re: Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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Reply #2 on:
15/06/2009 18:11:49 »
No, that was really an afterthought. My main thought is really on the evolution of the planets not the age of the sun.
I have revised my original post and removed the age of the sun question.
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Last Edit: 15/06/2009 18:18:20 by ams3818
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Vern
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Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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Reply #3 on:
15/06/2009 18:25:42 »
It seems more reasonable to speculate that Mars was once earth like and cooled to its present state. Earth is now like Mars was when it cooled through life-sustaining temperatures. Then Venus should cool in the future to be like earth. [
] That is pure speculation.
Moving just an inch a year, the earth will take quite some time to close the ninety million miles. Did you work out the time?
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ams3818
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Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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Reply #4 on:
15/06/2009 18:38:18 »
I thought about that too, looking at the planets the theory could really work both directions but with a different progression. I only went with the planets evolving from the outer --> in because I had read that we are moving closer to the sun and not farther away. I did not work out the time and agree that it would be a tremendous period. Also I based it on an article I read almost 20 years ago that said that the Earth moved closer to the Sun by about an inch a year. That number could be way off if it's correct at all. I really didn't research it more than that but thought the idea that the planets progress and change through the solar system very interesting.
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Vern
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Planetary Evolution in our Solar System
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Reply #5 on:
15/06/2009 21:07:16 »
I'm sure the planets do evolve. We know they were once all molten. And Mars seems to have had a past in which liquid water was on its surface.
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