New data has shown that planets form not in strict order, but in conditions of chaos and gravitational disturbances, which changes our understanding of the birth of worlds.
Astronomers have cast doubt on the classical model of planetary system formation. A new study has shown that the process of planet birth is more like a chaotic dance of matter than an orderly movement according to strict laws.
Previously, it was believed that planets form from protoplanetary disks of gas and dust, gradually building up on stable orbits. However, observations and computer models have proven the opposite: such disks are rarely smooth and symmetrical, and gravitational disturbances lead to instability. Young planets change trajectories, collide, and are even ejected from systems.
This explains the unusual orbits of many exoplanets—from “hot Jupiters” to planets with extreme axial tilts. According to scientists, chaos has become an integral part of evolution, and the Solar System may have gone through a series of upheavals before achieving the stability that allowed Earth to become the cradle of life.
The researchers’ conclusion: chaos, not order, is at the heart of the birth of worlds.
