Abstract
Origin of the Planetary System. A new theory of the origin of the system is proposed by Dr. R. Gunn (J. Franklin Inst., June 1932). Instead of the appulse of two stars, he postulates the fission of a single star by rotational instability. He supposes that the star originally rotated in a few hours, but that after fission the strong tidal action between the components slowed it down. While the two bodies were within Roche's limit, a certain amount of disintegration took place, which is supposed to have given rise to the planets. When the star split, one side of each component had been near the centre of the star when single, and was much hotter than the other side. The reaction of the intense radiation pressure from the hotter sides made the stars separate, and the other component is supposed to have receded to a stellar distance.
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Astronomical Topics. Nature 131, 405 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131405a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131405a0