There are good reasons to think that Earth and Mars
originally formed a single planet outside the orbit of Jupiter. Early in Solar System history, Jupiter’s powerful gravitational field pulled this planet past the gas giant. As the planet neared Jupiter, tidal friction heated it to the melting point, and Jupiter tore Mars away from Earth, leaving the Pacific Basin and an array of evidence on both planets. Earth and Mars then sped off into the inner solar system.
How Do We Know This?
Once a leading theory of the origin of the Earth-Moon system, the Capture Theory is simple and intuitively plausible. The numerous instances of moons with retrograde orbits show that capture is fairly common. The lunar orbit’s three moments of inertia are consistent with a past very eccentric orbit, suggestive of capture1. However, the Moon would have to come from a different part of the solar system to account for its very depleted iron compared to the Earth’s iron, which means that it would approach the Earth at a high velocity that would prevent capture. Researchers have searched in vain for a braking mechanism that would slow it down so it could be captured. Still, the accumulated evidence and arguments make the Capture Theory a viable one.
But
A new theory of the origin of the terrestrial planets—that Jupiter’s gravity pulled them inward from the outer solar system—solves longstanding scientific riddles and offers a rich agenda for further investigation.
The origin and distribution of water on the terrestrial planets make a good place to start investigating this theory. Radiation pressure and the solar wind pushed water molecules out beyond the “snow line” around 4.5 AU, so how did Earth come to have a relatively significant amount of water?
Historian and scientific researcher Kenneth J. Dillon discusses his theory The Outer Solar System Origin of the Terrestrial Planets (OSSO). OSSO explains how Mercury, Earth, the Moon, and Mars originated outside the orbit of Saturn, then were pulled inward by Jupiter’s gravity. Tidal friction heated them to incandescence, then they tidally locked to Jupiter and were separated, moving as comets into their present orbits. See also https://www.scientiapress.com/outer-solar-system-origin.
Curiously, even though the Babylonians reported many details of celestial phenomena, the astrologers of Babylon are said not to have relied on actual observations.
According to a leading expert, “The existence of Babylonian omens for eclipses beginning and clearing in all four directions, or areas of the moon, despite the fact that a lunar eclipse will never begin on the western edge of the moon, indicates a lack of concern with observational veracity in favor of schematic order.”1
But there is another explanation that makes more sense of what the Babylonian astrologers were up to.
A new theory of the origin of the terrestrial planets—that Jupiter’s gravity pulled them inward from the outer solar system—solves longstanding scientific riddles and offers a rich agenda for further investigation.
Kenneth J. Dillon has a Ph.D in history from Cornell University and has taught at several universities.