Formation of the Satellite Systems of the Major Planets

Abstract

It is well known that the satellite systems of the major planets Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus share many of the same regular features that can be seen in the planetary system of the Sun. The inner satellite orbits are nearly circular and lie in the plane defined by the axis of rotation of the central body. Again the distances Rn of the regular satellites, numbered inwards to the centre n = 0, 1, 2, …, form a nearly geometric sequenceRn/Rn + 1 ≌ constant,similar to the Titius-Bode law of planetary distances. These facts suggest that the same cosmogonic process must have been responsible for the origin of both types of systems.