We always wanted to know if there are other planets where circumstances can exist as on our planet. As our telescopes and sensors are ge...
We always wanted to know if there are other planets where circumstances can exist as on our planet. As our telescopes and sensors are getting better, in recent years we have found out that many of the stars have a planetary system. This is a major discovery in practical terms, meaning that our astronomical tools have reached this level. In theory, we have been aware of the need for a planetary system at the formation of a star for a long time, as the planetary system carries most of the original cloud's angular momentum from which the star system emerged. If that were not the case, the central part of the gas cloud would be much harder to collapse into the central star. There are theoretical models that explain this process.
And what planetary systems do we see? The majority of the discovered systems are significantly different from our solar system. We see giant planets close to the stars, which, even if they are in the life zone, are completely different from Earth, creating impossible conditions for life.
A plausible explanation for why there are so many planetary systems, which are completely different from ours, is that we can detect only these with the current equipment. It is easier to spot the big planets close to a star. With the development of our telescopes and sensors, we can perceive smaller and smaller planets, and indeed, we see more and more of these.
The question remains, though: why are there so many kinds of planetary systems? The starting state is more or less similar: the gravitational collapse of dust and gas cloud creates a star and its planets. A planetary system is formed at many of the stars because the angular momentum has to be concentrated somewhere else than in the central part. However, a general process seems to create very different planetary systems.
There is currently no well-functioning theory explaining the way how the planetary systems with different structures are formed. What can be the major influencing factor that makes the general, well-described cloud-contracting process so unique?
Maybe the starburst effect, the way how and when the central star lights up.
As the dust and gas cloud collapse, gravitational effects begin to form the future star in its central part. However, a star is an active celestial body, living a more active life than a planet. The most influential phase of the star's life affecting the formation of the planetary system is when the fusion process starts in the core of the star when the star lights up. This active energy production can cause fundamental changes in the generally describable formation process. The launch of the fusion generates a significant amount of extra high-energy material and shock waves into the forming planetary system. The launch of a star's fusion energy production is more or less generally describable, but when and how violently this process occurs during the formation of the planetary system can be unique, and this may result in the different forms of planetary systems. A generally describable interstellar cloud contraction process and a generally describable star formation process may allow the formation of unique planetary systems according to in what phase of the planetary system formation occurs the energy generation in the star's core. Starting the energy-generation in the star's core is certainly a significant effect and occurs at a specific time in the process, thus ensuring the uniqueness of the star system.
Setting up a model that takes into account the starburst effect at the formation of the star system may provide a suitable explanation for the formation of different planetary systems.
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