> >Tue, 09 Dec 1997 17:40:51 -0600 Glenn Morton wrote:
> As I said,
> these long period comets are coming from somewhere, and the Oort and Kuiper
> cloud is as good a place as any. It is certainly a better hypothesis than
> no hypothesis at all.
There is another theory with more than imaginary data. Astronomer Tom
Van Flandern has expanded the "Exploded Planet Hypothesis" to include
the origin of long period comets, virtually all of which are
gravationally bound to the solar system, as well as the hemispheric
cratering assymetry of numerous planets and moons. His web page is at
The near side of our moon is about 27% lunar mares with associated
mascons. The moon's far side has none of these features. The mares are
basaltic lava which welled up into craters formed by meteor impact. If
this had happened gradually over millions of years, the mares/mascons
should be evenly distributed over the moon's surface. The moon's
mares/mascons appear to have been the result of a catastrophic
explosion; one which perhaps also flung fragments into long period
orbits of our comets.
Bill