A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hypothesizes that when Jupiter rocked up to our then-infant solar system, it obliterated the incumbent planes, and gave us a lot of apparent quirks of our solar system. Konstantin Batygin and Gregory Laughlin’s study highlights some curious parts to our galactic home that aren’t typically found in other solar systems – particular the lack of planets between Mercury and the Sun itself. Normal solar systems usually pack in a few planets a few times the size of Earth in this gap. Apparently, our solar system’s big hitter may have blitzed these planets as they were still forming, while settling into orbit itself. Thanks Jupiter.
via Engadget
