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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Nemesis = Jupiter et al resonating the asteroids
Message-ID: <6300@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 18-Jan-86 20:32:56 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.6300
Posted: Sat Jan 18 20:32:56 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jan-86 20:32:56 EST
References: <8601170425.AA18414@s1-b.arpa>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 18

> ... So, anyway, the Trojan asteroids may thus be periodically
> sloshed out of their wells into random orbits including some
> Earth-crossing...

Small problem:  the Trojan potential wells are very shallow, and the
forces involved in planetary perturbations are small.  How do you get
"random orbits" from that?  You'll get only very small changes in orbit,
which will hardly suffice to turn a near-circular orbit in the outer
Solar System into an Earth-crossing orbit.  Perhaps later encounters
with Jupiter could account for it, but I have doubts.

I'd also like to see a quantitative analysis of the effect of other
planets on the Trojan gravity wells.  Remember the inverse-square law,
and the distances in the outer Solar System:  those effects are going
to be pretty small.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry