"Astronomers Finally Find the Answer to Earth’s Water Mystery " (Refined planet formation model)

Looking at her picture, you may think that Earth is a water world. But the fact is that she is 99-percent dry rock. According to our current solar system formation model, this is impossible—a mystery that has puzzled scientists until now. Rebecca Martin and Mario Livio—of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland—may have found the solution to this riddle using data from the Hubble Space Telescope. By observing how young stars behave, they came up with a new model that may forever change our understanding on how planets are created.

Remeber the imfamous picture that floated around here for a bit?



The old model :

Depending on their distance to the Sun, the planets had different characteristics. According to the standard model, any planets that fell within a certain zone would be dry and rocky. Any other planet outside that frontier would be ice water worlds

But, they are now finding out that they may not have thought of all the conditions, of an early solar system, which could effect planet formation.

We said, wait a second, disks around young stars are not fully ionized. They're not standard disks because there just isn't enough heat and radiation to ionize the disk. Very hot objects such as white dwarfs and X-ray sources release enough energy to ionize their accretion disks, but young stars don't have enough radiation or enough infalling material to provide the necessary energetic punch to ionize the disks.

As proven time and again, then what we know about the universe, is but a theory that is constantly being revised, and.

What really brightens my day, about this is the fact that the young astrophysicist Rebecca Martin is working with veteran astrophysicist Mario Livio, showing that even the more experienced scientists are willing to throw out what the know, and revise it for a new model.

Just thought id share this news with you.

Namaste

Sources : Gizmodo Hubble Site

What is the importance of Ionization in the accretion disk?

reply to post by WiseThinker


Are they saying that there is a region where any type of planet can exist ?

Like jupiter o Saturn type in the same type of location as earth ? and it not always being gas...or rocky ?

They had been puzzled as the to amount of liquid water (or lack of) on our planet because, according to our planet formation model, then the our planets characteristic should be a frozen planet, covered with water.

If the snow line was inside Earth's orbit when our planet formed, then it should have been an icy body. Planets such as Uranus and Neptune that formed beyond the snow line are composed of tens of percents of water. But Earth doesn't have much water, and that has always been a puzzle.

However, with revised data, taking new factors into account, then our planet does fit inside the formation model.

So its not so much a new discovery, as it is a revision of an old theory to remove a big bug that it had.

Namaste

reply to post by WiseThinker


You are completely right. I think we are really microcosmic atoms at a macrocosmic level.
We're finally realizing that we know absolutely nothing.
Does an ant understand the workings of a sun?
Although we may be more intelligent than an ant, we dont have the brain power to comprehend it all.
S&F

reply to post by ChristIsHere

Although we may be more intelligent than an ant, we dont have the brain power to comprehend it all.

Were working on it.

You may not have the brain power but eventually after more research and studies I am confident that we as a species will find out.

I have posted the definition of science around a few times. I will repost it just for you.

sci·ence /ˈsaɪəns/ Show Spelled[sahy-uhns] Show IPA
noun
1. a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws: the mathematical sciences.
2. systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.
3. any of the branches of natural or physical science.
4. systematized knowledge in general.
5. knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study.

link

I will take that any day instead of the same old story told for centuries and centuries. A story that never changes and is left for interpretation any way one sees fit.

We should never stop learning.

star and flagged to the op.

reply to post by Mkoll

What is the importance of Ionization in the accretion disk?

I suppose it has to do with how it reacts to gravitational fields. Ionized material responds differently than non ionized materials.

I really dont get it

reply to post by liejunkie01


I was simply making the statement that we will never quit learning. I mean what a boring existence! To know it all?

I understand "we" (I'm assuming that you are helping?) are working on it. But its something that is far beyond our reach at this time. Far, Far, Far, away.

I think that if someone were to actually give "us" the true reality, this moment, we wouldn't be able to comprehend it, or scoff at it. Either one.

Everytime "we" have discovered something AMAZING, somehow science will change it again. I believe that we grow as a species and become more intelligent because of it. Evolving, if you will. But at this time, again, I don't believe we can comprehend it.