Interstellar crashes could throw out habitable planets
One of the protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula. Credit: NASA / ESA and L. Ricci (ESO)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Our solar system, where planets have a range of sizes and move in near-circular paths, may be rather unusual, according to a German-British team led by Professor Pavel Kroupa of the University of Bonn. The astronomers, who publish their model in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , find that forming planetary systems may be knocked around by crashes with nearby clumps of material, leading to systems where planets have highly inclined orbits and where the smaller (and potentially habitable) worlds are thrown out completely.
The planets in our Solar System, including the Earth, orbit in the same direction around the Sun as the Sun spins, mostly move in paths not so different from circles and are also more or less lined up into a plane not tilted very far with respect to the solar equator. But planetary systems around other stars can be very different, with some worlds moving in the opposite direction to the spin of their stars and with highly tilted orbits. For the first time the team of astronomers think they have a convincing explanation for these radically different systems.
Both the shape of and direction of travel of planets in our Solar System were thought to result entirely from the formation of the Sun and planets more than 4600 million years ago. Our local planetary system is believed to have formed as a cloud of gas and dust (a nebula ) that collapsed into a rotating disk under the influence of gravity. The planets then grew from clumps of material within this so-called protoplanetary disk.
The new work suggests that oddly shaped orbits may result from a rather less smooth process. The team think that if the protoplanetary disk enters another cloud of material, it can draw off up to about 30 times the mass of Jupiter from the cloud. Adding this extra gas and dust tilts the disk and hence the angle of the final orbits. Most planetary systems are thought to form in clusters of stars, where the member stars are fairly close together, so these encounters may be very common.
Tilt Angle Of Earth - News

The planets in our Solar System, including the Earth, orbit in the same direction around the Sun as the Sun spins, mostly move in paths not so different from circles and are also more or less lined up into a plane not tilted very far with respect to
But a new study concludes that Earth's orbit would have been stable even without a moon. Moon stabilizes the tilt of Earth that in turn ensures stable climatic conditions for the evolution of complex life. However, according to the latest study,
It's only about 1000 feet across, and was discovered only last October using special instruments on NASA's WISE (Wide-angle Infrared Survey Explorer) satellite, during a year-long survey of the entire sky. TK7 is not orbiting the Earth.
The accelerometer can give accurate tilt angle measurements when the system is at rest. When the system is rotating or in motion, the accelerometer cannot follow the fast motion. The gyroscope can output dynamic angular velocity data.
You'll need to adjust the angle of its crane and the tilt of the water cannon so the water trajectory can be altered. The Internet Movie Database app for iOS received a few user interface tweaks a couple of days ago, and the focus is on account-related
Tilt Angle Of Earth - Bookshelf
Of mice and men
The tragic story of the friendship between two migrant workers, George and mentally retarded Lenny, and their dream of owning a farmThree cups of tea, one man's mission to fight terrorism and build nations-- one school at a time
Traces how the author, having been rescued and resuscitated by Himalayan villagers after a failed attempt to climb K2, worked to build schools that would ...Art of War
While appreciative of the philosophical richness of the Art of War, this edition stresses Sun-tzu's practical origins and presents a translation that is both ...Unaccustomed earth
Exploring the secrets and complexities lying at the heart of family life and relationships, a collection of eight stories includes the title work, about a young ...The elements of style
Offers advice on improving writing skills and promoting a style marked by simplicity, orderliness, and sincerity.Information Today Directory
Axial tilt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Over the course of an orbit, while the angle of the axial tilt does not change, the ... The Earth currently has an axial tilt of about 23.4°.[2] The axis ...
Axis Tilt of the Earth
First read the info below on how the angle of the sun has changed. ... This equates to the normal angle of tilt on the earth's axis at 23.5 degrees. ...
Will Earth's tilt angle continue to increase? | Earth | EarthSky
The Earth's axis is now tilted at about twenty-three and one-half degrees. Over a long time, will this tilt angle increase so that the Earth's ...
Earth Tilt Analysis
Earth tilt seems to be a little bit off about 8 to 10 minutes of angle. ... The reading in the North North Western Hemisphere show about a 3.14 minute of angle too far South. ...
Earth's Tilt
However, a recent theory says that the shape of the Earth has had more of an effect on the tilt angle in the past. The shape may have been sufficiently ...