Even I found it interesting.

>>According to the results of a new study, Uranus may have survived a dramatic collision with a protoplanet twice or even three times the size of Earth, roughly four billion years ago. The cataclysmic event would explain a number of mysteries surrounding Uranus, including the reason for the dramatic tilt of the gas giant and the formation of its moons.<<

https://newatlas.com/uranus-protoplanet-collision-earth/55280/

PermeateFree said:

Even I found it interesting.

>>According to the results of a new study, Uranus may have survived a dramatic collision with a protoplanet twice or even three times the size of Earth, roughly four billion years ago. The cataclysmic event would explain a number of mysteries surrounding Uranus, including the reason for the dramatic tilt of the gas giant and the formation of its moons.<<

https://newatlas.com/uranus-protoplanet-collision-earth/55280/

A really really old theory. Around in the 1950s if I remember correctly. It’s never been disproved.

> team used a powerful supercomputer to run over 50 different simulations involving a proto-Uranus being struck by a series of three impactors that were one, two, and three times the mass of the Earth, respectively.

These shouldn’t be impactors after the planet formed. The planet formed by multiple impacts, just like every other solar system planet (except possibly Neptune). It’s just that some of the more recent ones were glancing blows.

> study could also help solve a long-standing mystery regarding the extremely low temperature

The low temperature of Uranus atmosphere isn’t the mystery. The mystery is the high temperature of Saturn’s atmosphere.

The simulation video is pretty, and may well be right. But it’s not as detailed as the similar simulations that show how Earth’s Moon formed.

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

Even I found it interesting.

>>According to the results of a new study, Uranus may have survived a dramatic collision with a protoplanet twice or even three times the size of Earth, roughly four billion years ago. The cataclysmic event would explain a number of mysteries surrounding Uranus, including the reason for the dramatic tilt of the gas giant and the formation of its moons.<<

https://newatlas.com/uranus-protoplanet-collision-earth/55280/

A really really old theory. Around in the 1950s if I remember correctly. It’s never been disproved.

> team used a powerful supercomputer to run over 50 different simulations involving a proto-Uranus being struck by a series of three impactors that were one, two, and three times the mass of the Earth, respectively.

These shouldn’t be impactors after the planet formed. The planet formed by multiple impacts, just like every other solar system planet (except possibly Neptune). It’s just that some of the more recent ones were glancing blows.

> study could also help solve a long-standing mystery regarding the extremely low temperature

The low temperature of Uranus atmosphere isn’t the mystery. The mystery is the high temperature of Saturn’s atmosphere.

The simulation video is pretty, and may well be right. But it’s not as detailed as the similar simulations that show how Earth’s Moon formed.

I very much doubt that they had those super computers in the 1950’s, but you carry on regardless.

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

The simulation video is pretty, and may well be right. But it’s not as detailed as the similar simulations that show how Earth’s Moon formed.

I very much doubt that they had those super computers in the 1950’s, but you carry on regardless.

Good point. The first Earth’s Moon simulation was done on the bhggest supercomputer that existed on Earth at the time. But I was thinking of a more recent Moon formation simulation that gave the 3-D distribution of orbital debris in great detail.