planetesimal hypothesis

/ ˌplænɪˈtɛsɪməl /

noun

the discredited theory that the close passage of a star to the sun caused many small bodies ( planetesimals ) to be drawn from the sun, eventually coalescing to form the planets

C20: planetesimal, from planet + infinitesimal

Let us now inquire briefly into the bearing of this planetesimal hypothesis upon the early geological history of the earth.

But the planetesimal hypothesis has no room for this enormous percentage of carbon-dioxide in the primitive atmosphere.

Such, then, is the mechanism of the first phase in the history of a spiral nebula according to the Planetesimal Hypothesis.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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