'Marstinis' could help explain why the red planet is so small
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 10:33
in Astronomy & Space
Mars is a small planet. In fact, for scientists who do solar system modeling, the planet is too small. This is an outstanding problem in terrestrial planet formation, said Dr. David Minton from the Southwest Research Institute. Everyone who does simulations of how you form terrestrial planets always ends up with a Mars that is 5-10 times bigger than it is in real life. Minton has been working alongside colleague Dr. Hal Levison to create new simulations that explain the small size of Mars by including the effect of what is known as planetesimal-driven migration, and additionally, small objects that Minton calls Marstinis could stir or shake up our ideas about the early solar system and the Late Heavy Bombardment.