Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: Janks on 24/11/2018 16:45:41
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Hi Chris
I have such an interest on the extent as to just how possible we can expand our thinking regarding the Universe and it's possibilities.
My first question is:
Would it be possible for a Star (Sun) to orbit a planet on condition that the planet is larger than the Star?
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Would it be possible for a Star (Sun) to orbit a planet on condition that the planet is larger than the Star?
Yes, but the key word in your question is "if". At present our understanding of planetary formation would exclude planets that were so massive.
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Thank you. Agreed, Just was interested to know if it at all was possible, what would the dynamics of this "Monster Planet" in regard to life on the planet be? Especially if the Sun is orbiting it
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Thank you. Agreed, Just was interested to know if it at all was possible, what would the dynamics of this "Monster Planet" in regard to life on the planet be? Especially if the Sun is orbiting it
Since the planet, to meet your requirements, must be of great mass the gravity will be considerably greater than on Earth. This likely would present difficulties for the development of complex life. Also, the sun, of necessity to meet your requirements, would be small and dim. Combined with the long "days" and "nights" the planet would probably struggle to maintain any liquid water.
That said, I am piling speculation, based on guesses, allied to improbabilities and founded on random thinking. However, I doubt the situation could ever actually arise - the "if" in your question seems to large.
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Technically the sun already orbits each planet. Pairs of objects orbit each other, or rather, they both orbit their common center of gravity. For the sun, that means it wiggles ever so slightly. For Jupiter, the common center of gravity is actually outside the sun, and thus the sun very much travels in a circular orbit that is larger than itself.
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Yes. I absolutely do agree. I did not take into account the obvious that the Star would be substantially smaller in size, We currently experience life here on earth completely reliant on our sun, which is the dominant mass in our system. Thank You again
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Thank you Halc.
This brings up another question I have regarding Binary Solar Systems:
If one star within a binary solar system should die and ( if both stars had their own planets revolving), would it be possible for the remaining planets of the dead star to be incorporated into the system of the remaining star, should that star be close enough to attract these planets into it's gravitational pull? Therefore adding new planets into the now singular System?
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Under natural formation scenarios, massive planets tend to accumulate large amounts of hydrogen. This, in turn, means that any sufficiently massive object formed with a large hydrogen content would be capable of performing thermonuclear fusion in its core. That would put an upper limit on planet mass.
However, this might change in the distant future. Once most of the hydrogen in the universe had been burned into heavier elements by stars, then the formation of super-massive planets with very little hydrogen content may be possible. In that scenario, you certainly could have planets that are heavier than some currently existing stars.
In the case of a planet composed entirely out of iron and heavier elements, it would have no thermonuclear-based upper limit on its mass because those elements cannot release energy by fusing. The mass could keep increasing until it collapses into a white dwarf. If the mass exceeds about 1.4 solar masses, it would collapse into a neutron star.
This brings up another question I have regarding Binary Solar Systems:
If one star within a binary solar system should die and ( if both stars had their own planets revolving), would it be possible for the remaining planets of the dead star to be incorporated into the system of the remaining star, should that star be close enough to attract these planets into it's gravitational pull? Therefore adding new planets into the now singular System?
That depends on what you mean by "die". If you are talking about a star going supernova, that most certainly could disrupt the orbits of the planets around it. Maybe under the right circumstances that could push a planet or two on a favorable course to have them captured by the other star. It's probably not a particularly likely event, though.