Terrestrial, asteroidal and gaseous

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Loren Booda
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the differentiation of terrestrial and gaseous planets in planetary systems, specifically questioning whether an asteroid belt serves as a boundary between these types of planets. It touches on the implications of asteroid belts for planetary stability and the current understanding of extrasolar planetary systems.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that the asteroid belt may indicate the transition from gaseous to terrestrial planets, suggesting it marks the limit of gravitational influence necessary for stable orbits of terrestrial planets.
  • Others argue that the understanding of planetary systems is limited, noting that most known exoplanets are large and that generalizations about asteroid belts are therefore premature.
  • A later reply highlights that the smallest known extrasolar planets are still significantly larger than terrestrial planets, indicating a gap in knowledge regarding smaller exoplanets and their potential asteroid belts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the role of asteroid belts in defining planetary types, and there is no consensus on the implications of current findings regarding extrasolar planets.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects limitations in current knowledge about the structure of planetary systems, particularly regarding the characteristics and existence of terrestrial planets outside our solar system.

Loren Booda
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Do planetary systems in general differentiate terrestrial and gaseous planets by an asteroid belt?
 
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Egads, that is a great question. Maybe the asteroid belt, indicates the beginning of the terrestrial field, yet the end of gravity sufficient to maintain terrestrial planets in stable orbit. Unless they are so distant like Pluto/Charon, that their membership in the solar system is just a tenuous thing, dependent on no greater force peeling them away from the system.
 
Other than our own, we have very little knowledge of the structure of planetary systems. Planets around other stars have been identified only in recent years, and they are all big (like Jupiter), so making any such generalization about asteroid belts is premature. One thing that has already been observed is that some of these big planets are very close to the star - around Mercury distant.
 
Mathman got it. IIRC, the smallest extrasolar planet found is still on the order of something the size of Neptune. So, we are far from understanding extrasolar terrestrials & asteroid belts. Stay tuned...the research on extrasolar planets is moving fast!
 

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