Siteadmin, Check users, Administrators
12,071
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 50:
Line 50: − +
→Theories of origin
== Theories of origin ==
== Theories of origin ==
Triton's retrograde orbit continues to puzzle secular astronomers. Virtually none of them believe that Triton formed at the same time as did Neptune; the [[nebula hypothesis]] simply would not allow that. The general consensus, therefore, is that Triton is a captured [[Trans-Neptunian Objects|trans-Neptunian object]] and possibly a [[Kuiper Belt]] object.<ref name=Hamilton/><ref name=Arnett/><ref name=Goudarzi>Goudarzi, Sara. "[http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060510_triton_origin.html Neptune Might Have Captured Triton]." ''<http://www.space.com/>'', May 10, 2006. Accessed May 10, 2008.</ref> Some authorities suggest that the capture and its aftermath might have melted Titan's interior and caused it to differentiate.<ref name=Hamilton/><ref name=Arnett/><ref name=darling>"[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/T/Triton.html Entry for Triton]." ''The Internet Encyclopedia of Science''. Accessed May 10, 2008.</ref>
Triton's retrograde orbit continues to puzzle secular astronomers. Virtually none of them believe that Triton formed at the same time as did Neptune; the [[nebula hypothesis]] simply would not allow that. The general consensus, therefore, is that Triton is a captured [[Trans-Neptunian Objects|trans-Neptunian object]] and possibly a [[Kuiper Belt]] object.<ref name=Hamilton/><ref name=Arnett/><ref name=Goudarzi>Goudarzi, Sara. "[http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060510_triton_origin.html Neptune Might Have Captured Triton]." ''<http://www.space.com/>'', May 10, 2006. Accessed May 10, 2008.</ref> Some authorities suggest that the capture and its aftermath might have melted Triton's interior and caused it to differentiate.<ref name=Hamilton/><ref name=Arnett/><ref name=darling>"[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/T/Triton.html Entry for Triton]." ''The Internet Encyclopedia of Science''. Accessed May 10, 2008.</ref>
But ''how'' that capture might have occurred remains an open question. The two favorite theories are:
But ''how'' that capture might have occurred remains an open question. The two favorite theories are: