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Apr 3, 2024
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Forming the System
We’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to learning about our
universe, but we still have a lot more to uncover. How did our solar system
form? How do planets form? How did Earth get its moon? These are all
questions that can be answered with just reading this article.
Our solar system has been around for over 4.6 billion years. We have multiple theories on how the planets & our solar system may have formed. From the Nebular Hypothesis, by Immanuel Kant and modified in 1796 by Pierre Laplace, to the Planetesimal Hypothesis of Chamberlin and Moulton (1900), many theories are circulating out there that could guide us into uncovering how planets in the solar system would have formed. These theories aren’t too far-fetched and have helped us understand how our planets may have formed and how our solar system started. Immanuel Kants the Nebular Theory is the best explanation of how our solar
system would have developed. According to Florida State College at Jacksonville and Dr. Mike Reynolds, “the solar system developed out of an interstellar cloud of dust and gas, called a nebula.”
[
1
] The reason why this theory is so popular and is best known as the best theory for the formation of
our solar system is because it accounts for the objects that are already in our solar system. It’s a very simple and straightforward theory.
Fig. 1. Nebular Hypothesis Diagram: Dust Grains —> Dust Grains collide, Atoms & Molecules fuse, Planetesimals are Formed —> Planetesimals collide and form into Planets. The second theory was Chamberlin and Moulton's star-sun collision. They theorized that the planets had formed as a result of a collision between the Sun and another star. A scenario was given to provide insight on what could have happened. “…gravity of the passing star shredded a series of bolts from
the solar surface. Bolts ejected from the Sun's near side were thrown out to distances comparable to those of the big planets…” [2] Planets cores would be produced from leftover bolts and outer parts would cool off, and start to move around the sun. Over time the cores would develop into planets.
Fig. 2. Chamberlin and Moulton Hypotheses: Collision between a sun and star forming the solar system
Each planet starts off as a microscopic grain of dust that is swirled around into a flat disk of dust and gas, kept in orbit by the Sun’s gravity. The flat disk is referred to as the accretion disk. These grains of dust in the accretion disk begin to collide with each other while atoms and molecules begin to fuse together creating Planetesimals. Planetesimals are big numbers of small
bodies that gently collide with one another forming bigger bodies, which then form into a planet. Condensation continues until the planet begins to grow and become heated. They’ll fall in line with orbiting the new star, which at this point forms a solar relationship. Over the years, our solar system was able to form 9 planets, an asteroid belt, satellites, and a giant star
all keeping everything together. Our Sun took its form in the center of our solar system. Planets fell in line, forming around a thin disk orbiting our giant star. After many years and evolutionary stages each planet has gone through, they have now reached a stage where we’re able to study them thoroughly enough to understand what they’re capable of inhabiting or how they’ve developed. Different types of planets form in different types of ways. In our solar system, we have two types of planets: the Inner, or Terrestrial, and the Outer, or Gas Giants. Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars have compact, rocky surfaces and are way smaller compared to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune which are more gaseous, ice-like, and bigger.
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Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system and closest to our sun. Mercury holds a bit more mass than the Moon. Though Mercury doesn’t have any rings or moons, it does have hints of liquid on the surface. About 4.5 billion years ago, Mercury was pulled and swirled together by gas and dust creating its moon-like surface today and rocky mantle. This small terrestrial planet cannot inhabit life due to its temperatures and solar radiation. Almost the same with its neighboring planet. Venus, the second planet from the sun and the hottest planet in our solar system. Similar to Earth due to its shape, Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction, unlike other planets. Venus’s formation involves a few cool elements. It’s predicted
that a large cloud of gas, a sprinkle of dust, and a dash of ice were used to create our planet. All with needing to be collapsed into a spinning disc! As hot as Venus is today, it was said that Venus once had liquid on its planet and could have been a habitable planet but due to its thick atmosphere of greenhouse gas and it has clouds of sulfuric acid, the atmosphere traps all of its heat, making Venus an uninhabitable furnace that could boil metal lead. Just like the rest of the planets, Earth formed the same way. Gravity of pulling and swirling gas and dust in creating our habitable planet. There are several theories out there as to how Earth came together but right now we will talk about how the moon came apart in this. Our solar system is home to
many satellites, minor bodies, asteroids, and debris. The leading theory of the moon's formation and why we have one is that a Mars-sized body, named Theia, collided with Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. The Netflix documentary series called Our Universe provides visual detailed insight on how it could’ve happened and the impact it had on our planet and solar system during that time. The remaining debris from the collision was in a
molten state but had crystallized, with less-dense rocks and began to fall into
Earth's orbit. Now becoming Earths only natural satellite. Not only have we scratched the surface of our solar system but we’ve only just begun to venture out into newer systems and galaxies, hopefully one day
uncovering new habitable planets with similar species, learn more about neighboring systems around us, and will discover new theories about different types of planetary bodies within our reach.
Citations 1.
Jacksonville, F.S.C. at, & Reynolds, Dr. M. (n.d). Introduction to
Astronomy. https://fscj.pressbooks.pub/introductionastronomy
2.
Patil Amruta, March 2023.
Chamberlin-Moulton Planetesimal
Hypothesis
-
GeographyNotes.
https://prepp.in/news/e-492-
chamberlin-moulton-planetesimal-hypothesis-geography-notes#
3. Naomi Austin; Stephen Cooter; Alice Jones, November 2022.
OurUniverse
.
https://www.netflix.com/us/title/81243961?
s=i&trkid=14170286&vlang=en&clip=81634500
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