How The Solar System Formed by Steven Lee

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Slide Notes

How The Solar System Formed

Published on Nov 20, 2015

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

How the solar system formed

By Steven lee

Photo by The^Bob

About 4.6 billion years ago a cloud of dust and gas collapsed. This cloud formed the basis for our solar system

Photo by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

As a region of the solar nebula collapsed gravity pulled the mass toward the center of the nebula. As the nebula contracted it began to rotate. As the rotation grew faster the nebula flattened into a disk. This disk is called a protostellar disk, this is where our sun formed.

Photo by write_adam

As the protostellar disk continued to contract most of the matter ended up in the center of the disk. Friction from matter that fell into the disk caused it to heat up millions of degrees. This intense heat packed space and the fusion of hydrogen to helium. This process caused huge amounts of energy to be released. This caused outward pressure and when the dust stopped collapsing the sun was born.

Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video

As the sun was forming dust grains collided and stuck together. Over time dust granules stuck and increased in size until they became meter sized bodies. Trillions of these were formed in the protostellar disk. Collisions between these caused bodies that were kilometers apart. These large bodies that formed are called plantesimals.

The inner part of the disk was so hot that only rocky metallic planets would form In the inner disk. These planets formed from when planeteismals crashed into each other. We call these inner planets terrestrial planets. In the cold outer disk ices gases and metals were all found. The planets drew gas and other matter as they grew. Therefore planets in the outer disk have rocky metallic cores and deep atmosphere of gas and ice.

Steven Lee