Bbc horizon secrets of the solar system mp4 download

They changed orbit. This idea that planets could change orbit, moving closer or further away from their star, turned astronomy on its head and led to one of the biggest rethinks since the time of Copernicus and Galileo.

Maybe that happened here'," he says. Since the time of Galileo, we have assumed that the planets in our Solar System follow stable, fixed orbits. We assumed that the planets were formed where we find them now - from the left-over dust and gas when the Sun burst into life. We assumed that our Solar System has, for four-and-a-half billion years, been a peaceful haven, stable for sufficient time to enable life to evolve on Earth. And yet there are some nagging mysteries about our own system of planets that have never been explained.

Mars, for example, is much smaller than we would expect; the asteroid belt is divided into two neat bands - an inner band of rocky material, and an outer band of icy lumps. No-one ever found a satisfactory explanation for these mysteries, and yet they are clues to a turbulent history that astronomers are beginning to uncover.

Since the discovery of migrating exoplanets, planetary scientists have proposed new models for the formation of our Solar System. They suggest that, far from being a peaceful and stable system with fixed orbits, our Solar System underwent periods of chaos, with Jupiter, the big bully of the Solar System, calling the shots.

He believes it's time to re-examine the evidence with fresh eyes: "Sometimes the blood spattered on the wall can tell you more about what happened than the body lying on the floor. According to Dr Walsh, Jupiter may have undertaken a wild journey through the Solar System, spreading havoc, stunting the growth of Mars and scattering everything in its path.

With a planet the size of Jupiter travelling freely through the system of planets, the outcome would have been far from certain. It could have evolved in a lot of different ways.

Details Edit. Release date February 1, United States. United Kingdom. Bigger Bang. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 50 minutes. Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content. Top Gap. What is the English language plot outline for Secrets of the Solar System ?

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