When happens when worlds collide

[Marc]

Well you could get the 1953 film but scientists belive they've unvocered evidence of two planets having collided.

Scientiests trying to determine that age of a star approximately 300 light years way noticed a large amound of dust and concluded that two planets had collided in what they believe would be an extinction level event for all life on both worlds.

It's the first time this has been encoutered.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24395789-12377,00.html

 

[All Seeing Eye]

How do they know two planets collided just because there's a lot of dust? Could just be an element of an asteroid field that never quite formed a planet.

"Many astronomers believe our moon was formed from the grazing collision of two planetary embryos, the young Earth and a body about the size of Mars, a crash that created tremendous debris, some of which condensed to form the moon and some of which went into orbit around the young sun," he said.

HOT DIGGITY DAMN! IT'S NIBIRU!

 

[Gepard]

HOT DIGGITY DAMN! IT'S NIBIRU!

NO! NO IT IS NOT!

But you know that.

 

[USS KG5]

Should I mention the deeply silly ramp-launching system for the rocket in that movie?

 

[scotthm]

I find it interesting that Mercury is the planet most likely to collide with Earth.

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[Marc]

Should I mention the deeply silly ramp-launching system for the rocket in that movie?

It's been years since I saw the film - what was so silly about the ramp launch unless it the length of the ramp. After all ramp launch has been postulated as a more efficient way of space launches especially for heavier payloads

I find it interesting that Mercury is the planet most likely to collide with Earth.

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Maybe it has something to do with the orbital paths.

 

[Zachary Smith]

I find it interesting that Mercury is the planet most likely to collide with Earth.

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Maybe it has something to do with the orbital paths.

Nah! Mercury just HATES us . . . .

 

[Neroon]

When I saw your thread title, it reminded me of today's APOD.

 

[Marc]

When I saw your thread title, it reminded me of today's APOD.

No doubt inspired by the news report that was the basis of the link I posted

 

[Neroon]

I tend to prefer the APOD's that are actual photographs, btu artistic renderings like that day's are still very useful. We have no idea what such a collision would be like, not that the picture is at all accurate. However, I bet it at least nudges us in the direction.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

This thread just got me thinking about something. Can anyone tell me if other star systems have an Oort cloud? or is it just our system?

 

[scotthm]

We have no idea what such a collision would be like, not that the picture is at all accurate. However, I bet it at least nudges us in the direction.

I'm wondering just how much energy it would take to cause two Earth sized planets to shatter into a ring of dust like that. I'm assuming that both planets would be travelling the same direction around the sun(s), and that their orbits just cross paths at the wrong time.

About how much speed difference would there need to be between these planets to cause a huge dust ring rather than for one, larger planet to re-form?

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[Marc]

We have no idea what such a collision would be like, not that the picture is at all accurate. However, I bet it at least nudges us in the direction.

I'm wondering just how much energy it would take to cause two Earth sized planets to shatter into a ring of dust like that. I'm assuming that both planets would be travelling the same direction around the sun(s), and that their orbits just cross paths at the wrong time.

About how much speed difference would there need to be between these planets to cause a huge dust ring rather than for one, larger planet to re-form?

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I'm sure some-one with a physics background could given an indication of the amount of kinetic energy involved

That said it might not be that both planets were turned to the dust but a lot of dust and debris was flung out by collision and that somewhere in the dust there's shattered remains of two planets.

The other question would be - whether planets just coliideded like two cars in an intersection or whether there was the drift toward the collission point over time - in which case would there have been an impact from gravitation forces? We know the affect that the moons gravity has on Earth - so what of an object the size of a planet?

 

[USS KG5]

Should I mention the deeply silly ramp-launching system for the rocket in that movie?

It's been years since I saw the film - what was so silly about the ramp launch unless it the length of the ramp. After all ramp launch has been postulated as a more efficient way of space launches especially for heavier payloads

Well I'm not sure why it has been postulated - you are talking an extremely large construction to build up speed that would be inconsiderable compared to escape velocity.

I always figured it was in the movie because it had been proposed in real life - but it has of course never been tried to my knowledge.

It is a good movie though.

 

[Kaziarl]

I think if two planets collided, there would be a lot of insurance forms to fill out.

 

[USS KG5]

I think if two planets collided, there would be a lot of insurance forms to fill out.

Assuming they both stopped and exchanged details - if one planet just sped off then the other planet loses his no-claims bonus!

Just proves there are bastards all over the universe.

 

[James Bond]

I find it interesting that Mercury is the planet most likely to collide with Earth.

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Interesting. How do you mean, though?