Why gas giants were created far from the Sun?

In summary: The winds and radiation from the star cause the gas giants to lose their atmospheres over time, and they end up close to the star. There is still some debate over how exactly this happens, but it seems plausible. The theory is that the gas giants formed out beyond the "snow line" of the disk, but the increased radiation and winds from the star caused them to migrate in. This theory is supported by the discovery of many gas giants close to their parent stars.
  • #1
pixel01
688
1
Some of my friends are arguing how gas giants were created far from the Sun, while the rocky planets were in the inner orbits.
One of the ideas is at first they were all the same: gas giants, then the solar wind blew the outer layers of the inners and they became rocky. How do you think of this?
 
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  • #2
I guess it's a matter of how (and how much) the sun and planets formed with respect to each other from the initial cloud, but it would seem plausible that the denser parts (dust) was pulled closer into the center of gravity while the lighter elements (gases) were further out.
 
  • #3
Astronuc said:
I guess it's a matter of how (and how much) the sun and planets formed with respect to each other from the initial cloud, but it would seem plausible that the denser parts (dust) was pulled closer into the center of gravity while the lighter elements (gases) were further out.

Thanks for your input. My idea is nearly the same: at first the solar wind blew the disk out and mostly the gas was influenced more, the dust stayed closer before the planets were created. In a recent article in space.com, the gas and dust disk is believed closer to the sun at first.
 
  • #4
The accepted idea was that the inner part of the solar system was too hot for ice and gas which got blown further away from the newly forming sun. Strong solar winds also played a part. Lately with the discovery of many gas giant exoplanets in close proximity to parent stars those ideas have been cast into a little bit of doubt. I still think the ideas are pretty solid since the gas giants proximity to parent stars can be explained by other factors such as gravitational interactions.
 
  • #5
Kurdt said:
The accepted idea was that the inner part of the solar system was too hot for ice and gas which got blown further away from the newly forming sun. Strong solar winds also played a part. Lately with the discovery of many gas giant exoplanets in close proximity to parent stars those ideas have been cast into a little bit of doubt. I still think the ideas are pretty solid since the gas giants proximity to parent stars can be explained by other factors such as gravitational interactions.

For the reason of discovery of quite many gas giants close to their parent stars, I should think it is because we so far have not been able to observe rocky small planets in such distances. There may be many more terrestrial planets out there.
 
  • #6
pixel01 said:
For the reason of discovery of quite many gas giants close to their parent stars, I should think it is because we so far have not been able to observe rocky small planets in such distances. There may be many more terrestrial planets out there.

Thats entirely true. It has still forced us to reconsider solar system formation ideas however since at one time gas giants close to parent stars would not have been thought possible.
 
  • #7
So, with all the information available by ..now, how do you think of solar system planets creation:
1) They were all created as gas giants and then the inner ones were losing thick atmospheres over time. Or 2) they were created just as they are today?

At first I followed the 2nd reason, now I am confused.
 
  • #8
Like I stated in my first post I still think the original ideas are pretty solid. There are other ways of explaining how gas giants would get so close to the parent star. When any star is first formed and initially ignites and starts nuclear reactions the solar winds are very powerful. This blows most of the accreting matter to the edges of the system leaving only the denser materials behind.
 
  • #9
In the current theories of planet formation, gas giants need to form out beyond the "snow line" of the stellar dust disk. The snow line is the point that the temperature of the dust disk is low enough for volatile ices to freeze out as solids. Gas giants need this for simple mass considerations; the center of Jupiter is about 10-15 Earth masses worth of rock and ice. There is not enough material in the inner portions of the disk to allow the formation of a planetary core this large.

You can calculate that directly by looking at the expected densities of stellar dust disks.

The idea for how gas giants get close to their parent stars, where we observe them in other systems, is that after formation in the outer parts of the disk they migrate inwards.
 

1. Why are gas giants located far from the Sun?

Gas giants are located far from the Sun because they were formed during the early stages of our solar system's evolution when there was a lot of gas and dust swirling around. As the gas giants grew, they accumulated more gas and dust from the surrounding area, causing them to migrate farther away from the Sun.

2. What is the significance of gas giants being far from the Sun?

The distance of gas giants from the Sun is significant because it allows for a balance in the solar system. If gas giants were too close to the Sun, their strong gravitational forces would disrupt the orbits of the smaller planets. Being far from the Sun also helps to stabilize the orbits of the gas giants themselves.

3. How do gas giants form in the outer regions of the solar system?

Gas giants form in the outer regions of the solar system through a process known as core accretion. This involves the gradual accumulation of gas and dust around a solid core, which eventually becomes large enough to attract more and more material. As the core grows, its gravitational pull becomes stronger, allowing it to gather even more gas and dust and eventually become a gas giant.

4. Are there any other factors that contribute to gas giants being far from the Sun?

Yes, there are other factors that contribute to the location of gas giants in our solar system. The position of the gas giants is also influenced by the location of the frost line, which is the distance from the Sun where it is cold enough for gases like water and methane to condense into solid ice. This frost line is located far from the Sun, making it easier for gas giants to form in this region.

5. Could gas giants have formed closer to the Sun and then migrated outwards?

Yes, it is possible that gas giants could have formed closer to the Sun and then migrated outwards. This theory is called the "Grand Tack hypothesis" and suggests that Jupiter and Saturn were originally closer to the Sun, but due to interactions with the gas and dust in the early solar system, they migrated outwards to their current positions.

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