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Nice Model

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

Definition

The so-called Nice model is a model for the dynamical evolution of the outer Solar System. In this model, the giant planets underwent a dynamical instability several hundred million years after the planets formed, which played a major role in shaping the present-day Solar System. The Nice model can explain several observations in the Solar System, including the orbits of the giant planets, several small body populations (e.g., Jupiter’s Trojans), and the late heavy bombardment.

Overview

The Nice model makes the assumption that the giant planets formed in a more compact configuration than their current one, with Jupiter and Saturn closer than their 2:1 mean motion resonance. The model also assumes that exterior to Neptune there existed a massive primordial disk of small bodies (planetesimals), totaling perhaps 50 Earth masses. The long-term evolution is thought to have proceeded as follows. Over time, Neptune’s gravity perturbed the orbits of nearby planetesimals onto...

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References and Further Reading

  • Gomes R et al (2005) Origin of the cataclysmic Late Heavy Bombardment period of the terrestrial planets. Nature 435:459–461

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Morbidelli A et al (2005) Chaotic capture of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids in the early Solar System. Nature 435:466–469

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Tsiganis K et al (2005) Origin of the orbital architecture of the giant planets of the Solar System. Nature 435:462–465

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, CNRS; Universite de Bordeaux, 2 Rue de l'Observatoire, 89, 33270, Floirac, France

    Sean N. Raymond

Authors
  1. Sean N. Raymond
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sean N. Raymond .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Astrophysicist, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, BP 89, 33270, Floirac, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Departamento de Planetología y Habitabilidad Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Campus Cantoblanco, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  3. Department of Astrophysics, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) Ctra de Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20015, USA

    Henderson James (Jim) Cleaves II

  5. Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Lederle Graduate Research, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-9305, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. GEOTOP & Départment des Sciences de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Daniele L. Pinti

  7. Astrobiology, CNES/DSP/EU, 2 place Maurice-Quentin, 75039, Paris, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Raymond, S.N. (2011). Nice Model. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_1058

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