While the simulation is really cool, I doubt it represents the reality (assuming...

marcosdumay · on Sept 21, 2017

> Why I think so: the planets have formed out of space debris, they didn't all fall into the star.

Nearly all of them did, there is way more mass on the Sun than orbiting it.

mikeash · on Sept 21, 2017

Just to put a number on "way more": the Sun contains 99.86% of all known mass in the solar system.

Of the 0.14% of the solar system that isn't the Sun, Jupiter accounts for roughly two thirds of it.

empath75 · on Sept 21, 2017

Only 25% of the mass ends up on earth.

And a point mass at the center of a sphere produces the same gravitational pull.

kbutler · on Sept 21, 2017

But a different collision probability.

Dylan16807 · on Sept 21, 2017

The earth is being given a size for collision purposes. But possibly much too large of one?

With that and it being 2d it's nearly useless for figuring out the actual collision rates, or how long it takes things to settle. But it is useful in some respects.

ginko · on Sept 21, 2017

I would also guess a full 3D simulation would give slightly different results.