Phaeton Hypothesis: A Testable Framework for Inner Solar System Reorganization

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a testable framework wherein a ~1.5 M planet at 2.3 AU, with Mars as a tidally-locked satellite, underwent tidal disruption at Jupiter's Roche limit approximately 400-500 Ma. The framework addresses several unexplained features of the inner solar system through a unified mechanism, including Mars's equatorial bulge, Valles Marineris orientation, Mercury's composition and orbit, and concentrated mass extinctions on Earth. Preliminary calculations suggest debris velocities (28-50 km/s) from Roche disruption, combined with Mars's ejection velocity (~20 km/s), would yield relative impact velocities (10-30 km/s) consistent with observed crater morphology. The hypothesis makes specific, falsifiable predictions testable through N-body orbital simulations and Mars sample return missions (2033-2037). A transparent confidence assessment is provided: ultra-conservative Bayesian probability estimates yield 30-40% plausibility pending computational verification, while evaluation of convergent physical evidence suggests 60-70% confidence may be more realistic. The primary research question is not whether this framework is correct, but whether it is physically plausible—if even a small fraction of parameter space (1 in 500 simulations) permits stable configurations, the framework merits serious consideration regardless of prior expectations. Keywords: planetary dynamics, tidal disruption, Roche limit, Mars geology, impact cratering, orbital mechanics, Greek astronomy