"Formation of Planets -- The Solar System: A Smoking Gun"
Aake Nordlund (Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics, and Geophysics ) - July 14 at 12:00 noon
The current paradigm of formation of planetary systems -- of which our own
solar system is now just one example -- faces serious difficulties. There
are at least half a dozen "deadly bullets" - issues on which current
theories can hardly survive. 1) They are at variance with the existence of
the now abundantly detected exoplanets. 2) There is not enough time to
form the outermost solar system ice planets. 3) There is a huge
discrepancy between the relative adhesive and kinetic energies of meter
size objects. 4) The amount and orientation of the rotation of the
collection of planets cannot be explained. 5) The abundances of chemical
elements on Jupiter cannot be explained. 6) The early occurrence of water
on Earth cannot be explained. Considered separately, these issues might
possibly find individual "explanations", but taken together, the evidence
against the current paradigm must be considered very strong.
TBD
The seminar will be held in 544 Campbell Hall.
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