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Solar System dynamic theories

  • Planetary migrationA planet or other body in orbit around a star interacts with a disk of gas or planetesimals, resulting in the alteration of its orbital parameters.
  • Giant-impact hypothesisIn 1898, George Darwin proposed that Earth and the Moon were once a single body. He suggested a molten Moon had been spun from Earth due to centrifugal…
  • Formation and evolution of the Solar SystemEmanuel Swedenborg, Immanuel Kant, and Pierre-Simon Laplace developed the nebular hypothesis in the 18th century. This model proposed that the Solar System…
  • Late Heavy BombardmentApollo 15, 16, and 17 landing sites were chosen for their proximity to the Imbrium, Nectaris, and Serenitatis basins. Astronauts collected impact melt rocks…
  • Nice modelScientists at the Côte d'Azur Observatory in Nice, France published a triplet of papers in the general science journal Nature during 2005.
  • Vulcan (hypothetical planet)In 1611, the German astronomer Christoph Scheiner reported seeing dark spots on the Sun. He believed these were small planets orbiting closer to the star…