How common are Earth-Moon planetary systems?
Abstract
The Earth's comparatively massive moon, formed via a giant impact on the proto-Earth, has played an important role in the development of life on our planet. Here we study how frequently Earth-Moon planetary systems occur. We derive limits on the collision parameters that may guarantee the formation of a circumplanetary disk after a protoplanet collision that could form a satellite. Based on a large set of simulations, we observe potential moon forming impacts and conclude that giant impacts with the required energy and orbital parameters for producing a binary planetary system occur frequently with more than one in ten terrestrial planets hosting a massive moon.
- Publication:
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The Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution
- Pub Date:
- November 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S1743921311020588
- Bibcode:
- 2011IAUS..276..414E
- Keywords:
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- planets and satellites: formation