An ancient space storm could have shaped our solar system. This unexpected conclusion was reached by experts from the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado. Some time after the planets took their true shape, a series of resonant shocks between the giant planets knocked them out of their usual orbits, forcing them to “wander” around the system for some time. According to sciencemag.org, the scars on the moon have convinced most planetary scientists that the cosmic storm happened approximately 3.96 billion years ago, 650 million years ago after the formation of the solar system. However, such a theory does not fit into the framework of the usual picture of planetary processes that took place at the dawn of the formation of our star system. Perhaps everything we know about the solar system is wrong?
Space storm rearranged the planets of the solar system
Two decades ago, scientists recognized that in the distant past of the solar system, the planets had to migrate from their usual places in order to create our unique planetary system in the form in which we know it now. According to a model presented by planetary scientists at the University of the Côte d'Azur, after the giant planets formed from the disk of gas, Jupiter pulled its giant counterparts into a resonant chain of orbits, where Saturn revolved around the Sun three times in Jupiter's two orbits. The gas surrounding the planets acted as a shock absorber, soothing any instability, but once it dissipated, the gravitational pull of the masses of the giant planets unleashed chaos.
Analysis of lunar rocks collected from impact craters by Apollo astronauts showed that the Moon underwent a severe cosmic cataclysm approximately 3.95 billion years ago. The large-scale event was called the Late Heavy Bombardment and suggests that the rocks collected by astronauts in several craters are debris from a powerful impact that created the Imbrium Basin. More accurate dating of the lunar meteorites shows that the collisions took place 4.3 billion years ago - significantly later than previously thought.
In a new article, published in the journal Icarus, the researchers prove how an earlier cataclysm might explain some of the strange features of the solar system. Thus, early instability could explain the presence of an asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, destroying planetary material at the border of the outer and inner parts of the solar system. In addition, the compact form of the belt could have appeared due to the last stage of instability in the solar system, during which the last jerk of Saturn from Jupiter threw the residual material after the formation of planets into the current orbit.
Despite the fact that there is almost no direct evidence of the early instability of the solar system, scientists intend to analyze the noble gases measured by the Rosetta spacecraft near comet 67P. According to the calculations of experts, instability could cause the bombardment of the Earth with a hail of comets almost immediately after it became solid. In addition, the icy composition of the double asteroid Patroclus-Menoetius, orbiting Jupiter, may indicate that the object was originally formed in distant corners of the solar system and was later pulled by the giant planet into its vicinity.
Be that as it may, there is a high probability that the ancient space storm contributed to the development of life on Earth. So, the giant planets located in their modern orbits perfectly protect the Earth from the invasion of asteroids and comets from the borders of the solar system, and the ancient cometary hail could well become a source of water so necessary for organic life.
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