From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Thu Jul 12 2001 - 10:29:38 MDT
CurtAdams@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 7/12/01 7:55:21 AM, bradbury@aeiveos.com writes:
>
> > The Moon and Plate Tectonics: Why We Are Alone
> > http://www.spacedaily.com/news/life-01x1.html
> >
> >It discusses the fact that the glancing collision
> >that produced the moon, in removing a significant
> >fraction of the mantle & crust, may have served to enable
> >plate tectonics which in turn enables the CO2 recycling
> >that provides a stable environment for life to evolve.
> >
> >If accurate, this tends to increase the number of
> >water worlds and decreases the locations where life
> >may evolve.
>
> Yes, but doesn't the article greatly overstate the case?:
>
> >>It has become clear that our Moon is a rare celestial object
>
> What about Charon? Double planets don't seem to be *that*
> rare. 1 out of 4, once you discount the suggested observer
> bias.
But did Charon result from a collision like that that formed our moon?
Or was it simply a captured Kuiper Belt Object.... its really just a
hunk of ice.
Between the four terrestrial planets, only one wound up like ours. So
all we know is that preliminary data say 25% of terrestrial planets wind
up thus. We'll have to wait until the Keck interferometer provides us
with more data from other star systems.
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