Simulations suggest the wide variety of outer planetary systems that planetesimal disks can produce. The outer solar system is shown for comparison (a). The simulated planetary systems that resulted from these 11 experimental runs range from having just one (b) to as many as seven (f) outer planets of varying mass (indicated above each planet in Earth masses). The different outcomes depend on the initial arrangement
of planetesimals and the chaotic interactions between them. (Adapted from Levinson et al. 1998.) |
