What is the origin of the solar system?
Formation. Our solar system formed about 4.5 billion years ago from a dense cloud of interstellar gas and dust. The cloud collapsed, possibly due to the shockwave of a nearby exploding star, called a supernova. When this dust cloud collapsed, it formed a solar nebula – a spinning, swirling disk of material.
Where did the gas and dust that formed the solar nebula come from?
The Sun and the planets formed together, 4.6 billion years ago, from a cloud of gas and dust called the solar nebula. A shock wave from a nearby supernova explosion probably initiated the collapse of the solar nebula.
Which of the discussed theories about the origin of the solar system is the most acceptable to you explain your answer?
the nebular hypothesis
The most widely accepted hypothesis of planetary formation is known as the nebular hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that, 4.6 billion years ago, the Solar System was formed by the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud spanning several light-years.
What makes the Earth and other planets in the solar system maintain their orbit around the sun?
The sun’s gravity pulls the planet toward the sun, which changes the straight line of direction into a curve. This keeps the planet moving in an orbit around the sun. Because of the sun’s gravitational pull, all the planets in our solar system orbit around it.
Is there another planet in our solar system?
Caltech researchers have found mathematical evidence suggesting there may be a “Planet X” deep in the solar system. This hypothetical Neptune-sized planet orbits our Sun in a highly elongated orbit far beyond Pluto. It may take between 10,000 and 20,000 Earth years to make one full orbit around the Sun.
What is nebula in solar system?
solar nebula, gaseous cloud from which, in the so-called nebular hypothesis of the origin of the solar system, the Sun and planets formed by condensation. Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg in 1734 proposed that the planets formed out of a nebular crust that had surrounded the Sun and then broken apart.
Which planet was formed from the light gases of the outer solar nebula?
Unlike most gas giants, Uranus has a core that is rocky rather than gaseous. The core likely formed first, and then gathered up the hydrogen, helium and methane that make up the planet’s atmosphere.
What are the three major theories of the origin of the solar system?
These are the Nebular Hypothesis of Laplace, the Planetesimal Hypothesis of Chamberlin and Moulton, and the Capture Theory of See. Darwings theory of Tidal Friction is scarcely a distinct hypothesis, but is mentioned separately on account of its application to all of the others.
What are the theories of solar system?
When it comes to the formation of our Solar System, the most widely accepted view is known as the Nebular Hypothesis. In essence, this theory states that the Sun, the planets, and all other objects in the Solar System formed from nebulous material billions of years ago.
Why planets do not fall into Sun?
The planets do not fall into the sun because they are moving too fast in the tangential direction. As they fall toward the sun they travel tangentially just enough that they never get very close to the sun. They fall around it, in effect.
What are all the planets made of?
Earth and the other three inner planets of our solar system (Mercury, Venus and Mars) are made of rock, containing common minerals like feldspars and metals like magnesium and aluminum. So is Pluto. The other planets are not solid. Jupiter, for instance, is made up mostly of trapped helium, hydrogen, and water.
What makes a planet a planet?
The most recent definition of a planet was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 2006. It says a planet must do three things: It must orbit a star (in our cosmic neighborhood, the Sun ). It must be big enough to have enough gravity to force it into a spherical shape.
Why is Earth not considered a planet?
Earth was not considered a planet, but rather was thought to be the central object around which all the other celestial objects orbited. The first known model that placed the Sun at the center of the known universe with the Earth revolving around it was presented by Aristarchus of Samos in the third century BCE, but it was not generally accepted.
When were the planets added to the Solar System?
Uranus was added as a planet in 1781 and Neptune was discovered in 1846. Ceres was discovered between Mars and Jupiter in 1801 and originally classified as a planet.
How did Earth come to be?
The story of how Earth came to be is a fascinating contradiction. On the one hand, many, many things had to go just right for Earth to turn out the way it did and develop life. On the other hand, the formation of planets similar to Earth is an entirely predictable consequence of the laws of physics, and it seems to have happened more than once.