München 1997 – scientific programme

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EP: Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 4: Kleine Körper 1

EP 4.3: Talk

Monday, March 17, 1997, 17:00–17:15, 332

Komentendynamik während der Entstehung des Planetensystems — •Soenke Eggers — MPI fuer Aeronomie, Postfach 20, 37189 Katlenburg-Lindau

Some consequences for the solar system’s comets if the sun formed in an embedded star cluster are discussed. In particular, numerical integrations of perturbations by cluster stars on comets in the sun’s postulated extended protoplanetary disk (out to 1000 AU) are presented. Due to the higher stellar density and lower relative velocity between the stars in the cluster, such perturbations would be more numerous and individually more severe than perturbations in the sun’s present environment. Preliminary Monte Carlo simulations of the cumulative effect of all stars that come close to the sun during the cluster’s lifetime indicate that inclinations of a few degrees and eccentricities up to 0.1 can be induced on initially circular orbits in the ecliptic. Because these perturbations occurred at a very early stage in the history of the solar system, they might not only have affected readily-formed comets, but also disturbed pre-cometary objects in the process of accumulation.