Our Solar System Is Even Stranger Than We Thought
Our Solar System Is Even Stranger Than We Thought

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Our Solar System Is Even Stranger Than We Thought

Our Solar System Is Even Stranger Than We Thought
Our Solar System Is Even Stranger Than We Thought
A couple of theories come to mind when reading this article. The first is that Pluto could be a captured rogue planet, ejected from the death of another star, which would explain its highly-elliptical orbit. The second theory is that Jupiter once orbited much closer to our sun, somewhere in the vicinity that is now occupied by the Earth itself.
This all makes me wonder if it's possible Jupiter is also a captured rogue planet, one that started out in a more elliptical orbit and broke up the inner planets (perhaps adding to its own mass), before settling into the more distant outer orbit?
Regardless, the evidence certainly seems to hint that "something" seriously disrupted the distribution of mass between our local planets early in their formation. It would certainly make for some interesting computer models to try and work out the possibilities.