On the Origin of Planets
By Means of Natural Simple Processes
by Michael M. Woolfson
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Pub. Ed. $49.00
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On the Origin of Planets
How do planets form, not only in our solar system but anywhere? On the Origin of Planets not only spotlights various historical answers to this question, but also sets forth its own original proposal, which author Michael Woolfson has developed over many years and which he claims can account for details other models cannot.
The basic feature of Woolfson’s model, “Capture Theory,” is that the material to form planets is captured by a star from a passing protostar or high-density region produced by colliding streams of gas. Under a wide range of conditions, tidal forces due to the star lead to the formation of an unstable filament of material, condensations within which become potential protoplanets.
The star captures some condensations while others escape to become free-floating planets. Depending on the total mass, distribution and other factors, the final orbit of a planet can have a wide range of shapes. In Woolfson’s model, all protoplanets are gas giants; rocky terrestrial worlds like Earth and Mars are caused by collisions of these giants, whose rocky cores become smaller planets. (Woolfson theorizes two gas giants called Bellona and Enyo that collided and formed Earth and Venus.)
In other sections of the book, Woolfson describes recent observations that have revealed the existence of planets around many Sun-like stars, and he provides a detailed tour of the planets, moons, and asteroids of our solar system. He explores how his Capture Theory can account for a host of specifics, from surface features of the Moon, to the Neptune-Triton-Pluto relationship, to characteristics of meteorites.
On the Origin of Planets provides fresh insights and answers regarding a central question of planetary science.
Softcover : 500 pages
Publisher: World Scientific Publications ( September 23, 2010 )
Item #: 13-424685
ISBN: 9781848165991
Product Dimensions: 6.0 x 9.0 inches
Product Weight: 28.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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