Saturday 23 November 2013

Space Rock Challenges Planet-Formation Theories

2002 UX25 challenges planet-formation theories. Image courtesy of M. Brown/NASA.




Joel Kontinen

A recent Nature news article recounts the standard explanation of planet formation:

Small dust particles in the swirling disk that surrounded the infant Sun gradually collided and coalesced to form bigger particles. This process ultimately built dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt, such as Pluto, as well as Earth and the other rocky planets in the inner Solar System.”

However, it discloses that this scenario might very well be very wrong. The reason for this is a 650-kilometre wide space rock that is less dense than water. The Kuiper-belt object, dubbed 2002 UX25, challenges current planet-formation theories.

The articles explains why 2002 UX25 matters: “Objects in the Kuiper belt are believed to have changed relatively little since the early years of the Solar System.”

There is no shortage of evidence that confirms that the solar system was designed very intelligently in order to make life on Earth possible.

Source:

Coven, Ron. 2013. Astronomers surprised by large space rock less dense than water. Kuiper belt object challenges planet-formation theories. Nature news (13 November).