Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 3/27/2008

Question
Hi there Patrick, i'm Scott, pleased to meet you.

I was watching National Geographic Channel the other day, Patrick, and in this program it was saying that in the early solar system, Jupiter and Saturn were actually the closest planets to the sun, and that thier gravity over time repelled each other, and pulled them apart from one-another and that is how the planets today go their position in the solar system. I heard this was quite a new discovery, it had been bafferling scientists for some time, and one man (can't remember the name) sussed it all out.

Basically, I would like some more information about this if you have it, as I can't quite remember the exact details.

Thankyou for your time,

Scott

Answer
Hi Scott,

Saw this on the question pool..
I already answered that one, and i think the other person has not answered which is why it came into the question pool.

just resubmitting my old answer...just in case..:)

Actually the mechanism that some people mis-rstand as gravitational repulsion is actually the "gravitational sling shot".

That is the mechanism that assissted the poineeer 1 and 2 (assissted by jupiter and saturn) to go out of the solar system.

Immediately after the formation of the system, the orbits of the gas giants were quite stable, circular, and closer than they are now.

The Kuiper belt objects were also closer. The gas giants actually pulled them in further and caused the "late bombardment" that is credited for much of the cratering observed in the inner solar system, and for bringing water and hydrogen based compounds to the earth.

In return, to conserve angular momentum, the outer planets themselves moved further out, and send many KBO objects farher out by gravitational slingshots. (oort's cloud).

Read all about that in that link.

regards.

Please do rate the answer.
Jayen

Use this link:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System