During this proposed
period in the asteroid belt, the main element which contributes
to the transformation to gas giant is accretion ( see 'The
Protected Zone' and 'Ecosphere I
and II' in The Super Earths section ).
I should also re-iterate the idea, outlined
in my 'Refined Hypothesis'
in 'Overview', that the orbits of these celestial bodies are all
linked and change togther, periodically moving outward, away from
the sun, the change influenced by the impact of the object which
starts the planet's tectonic pattern. As part of this sequence,
when Mars moves from its present orbit into the orbit that Jupiter
lies in now it will lie for a period within the asteroid belt. The
absorption of debris from countless successive collisions increases
the mass of its gathering gas clouds. This increases the gravity
of the object lying within this region, or orbit, which is crucial
in retaining the gravitational equilibrium of the solar system.
This is how old dead Earths are disposed
of while still serving a practical purpose by keeping the next Earths
on their course within the ecosphere ( the band within which life
is possible ). They also protect the inner planets by absorbing
debris from the outer solar system.
However, the asteroid belt as it stands today
no longer has enough material to make another Gas Giant of Jupiters
proportions.
I believe the asteroid belt is the remnants
of the enormous disk of gas and dust that is believed to have once
surrounded the sun ( see: Super-Earths
). It was much more extensive in the past, and shrouded in gas,
which provided the raw material for the gas giants clouds to accumulate
( I believe this is what we are seeing when we observe other systems
like Beta Pictoris - see: Beta Pictoris
in 'The Super Earths' ). But the asteroid belt is now much depleted
by the passage of each successive Earth through it.
The present bulk of the asteroid belt's
mass is, carbon, iron, nickel, silicon, and many other 'rocky' elements.
The bulk of Jupiter's mass is Hydrogen and Helium. These are the
elements that each successive passage have taken from the asteroid
belt.
The Gas Giant that Mars will become will
be much smaller, or perhaps not a gas giant at all, but simply a
larger 'rocky' world ( see: 'Intermediate
World' in The Super Earths ) and perhaps the gravitational stability
of the system will then no longer be sustainable. |