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Old October 6th 03, 06:55 PM
Hop David
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Default Hubble Uncovers Smallest Moons Yet Seen Around Uranus



Gordon D. Pusch wrote:
(Russell Wallace) writes:


Something I'm curious about: All the outer planets seem to have
trillions of objects in orbit around them, in a smooth continuum from
moons comparable in size to our own, down to microscopic dust specks.
Yet all the inner planets seem to be completely devoid of orbiting
material, apart from the three moons Earth and Mars possess between
them. Does anyone know the reason for the discrepancy?



Gas-giant planets and "terrestrial" planest are believed to form by
different physical mechanisms. "Terrestrial" planets are believed
to form by collisional accretion of "planetesimals," whereas "gas giant"
planets are believed to form by accretion from a sub-disk embedded within
the main protoplanetary disk that itself resembles a "mini solar system."



Do Uranus' moons lie in her equatorial plane? (So far my casual googling
is giving me no answer)

Hop
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