Formation and evolution of the Solar System leads to decreases in the magnitude of each (that cancel each other out). In both cases, tidal deceleration causes the moon to spiral in towards the primary until it either is torn apart by tidal stresses, potentially creating a planetary ring system, or crashes into the planet's surface or atmosphere. Such a fate awaits the moons Phobos of Mars (within 30 to 50 million years), Triton of Neptune (in 3.6 billion years), Metis and Adrastea of Jupiter, and at least 16 small satellites of Uranus and Neptune. Uranus's Desdemona may even collide with one of its neighboring moons. A third
The Secret of the Ninth Planet The Secret of the Ninth Planet The Secret of the Ninth Planet is a science-fiction novel written by Donald A. Wollheim and first published in the United States in 1959 by the John C. Winston Co. Wollheim takes his heroes on a grand tour of the solar system as that team struggles to prevent an alien force from blowing up the sun. This is the last of three juvenile novels that Wollheim wrote for Winston, the other two being "The Secret of Saturn's Rings" and "The Secret of the Martian Moons". This is one of the thirty-five juvenile novels that