Re: [FT] Jovian formation

M-x lurk-mode-off

Someone asked if there are any astronomers out there, well, I claim
to be one on my CV.  Note, I know jack about planets, I am
extra-galactic
observer.

If you wanna make solar systems, do whatever you want, the current
theory
is pretty up in the air.  A lot of the physics of accretion is not well
understood (people still argue about what causes the all important
vicosity) so why a planet ends up as big as it is and how far from the
star it is, nobody can answer definitively.  So do whatever you want.

I checked out accrete, the java version looks really cool.  However,
where
the planets start is random, there is no physics in it.  

If you want to check out planet search stuff, check out:

http://cannon.sfsu.edu/~gmarcy/planetsearch/planetsearch.html

He has a table candidates, that could give you ideas on where to put
your
jovians.  However, that survey is chocked full of selection biases (just
like everything else in astronomy).  If you check his table of planets,
you
will see that he finds planets on circular orbits near the star and on
highly ellipitical orbits far from the star.  This is because a planet
far from the star with a circular orbit will have a much smaller effect
on
the central star, making it much harder to measure the planets orbital 
parameters.  

well, back to my thesis, 13 days and counting.

M-x lurk-mode-on