Timeline for What would it take to knock a whole planet to 90 degrees of inclination relative to the sun?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
4 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2016 at 23:28 | comment | added | JDługosz | I think the time of close approach is still fast enough to be a problem. The planet won't shed the excess energy in a few days. It takes thousands of years to be gentle enough. | |
| Aug 11, 2016 at 23:25 | comment | added | Blckknght | @JDługosz: I think the issue is not the same in both cases. When the energy all comes from a collision, it arrives all at once in a single big event. A close passing star would perturb the orbit more gradually, and since it's a gravitational effect, all the things on the planet would be pulled by the same force. Only if the tidal forces of the passing star were so great would the planet break up (and if the star came that close, good luck orbiting anything any longer). | |
| Aug 11, 2016 at 23:05 | comment | added | JDługosz | How does your second paragraph not have the same issue as the first? The amount of energy needed to alter the asis is the same no mqtter how it’s supplied. | |
| Aug 11, 2016 at 21:56 | history | answered | John Dallman | CC BY-SA 3.0 |