The most common view we have of the solar system today is a
heliocentric view. First introduced to us by Aristarchus, a heliocentric view of
the universe means that the sun is at the middle, and the planets orbit
around the sun. Before this theory, it was common to believe in a geocentric
view of the universe, meaning that the earth was in the center, and the sun
orbited around earth. The way our universe began is a topic of hot debate,
according to scientists however, our best guess is the nebular hypothesis.
The nebular hypothesis is a theory that states the sun and entire solar
system were formed around the same time about 5 billion years ago. A cloud
of light elements also known as a nebula, flattened, with its heaviest mass
settling in the middle, thus forming our solar system.
Two groups of planets exist in our solar system; Jovial and Terrestrial.
Terrestrial planets are closer to the sun, containing warmer climates, such as
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. These planets consist of a rocky
appearance and are very dense. Our Jovian planets are Jupiter, Saturn,
Neptune, and Uranus. These are our gas giant planets. Applying nebular
theory this would make sense, our sun being the hottest celestial body being
in the middle, then slowly trickling out to Neptune and Pluto as the coldest
planets. The one being the most similar to Earth’s composition is Venus.
Sources: LibreTexts Geosciences. Chris Johnson...Cam Mosher.
Origin of The
Solar System- The Nebular Hypothesis.
Salt Lake City Community College.
Located at:
https://geo.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Geology/Book
%3A_An_Introduction_to_Geology_(Johnson_Affolter_Inkenbrandt_and_Mosher
)/08%3A_Earth_History/8.02%3A_Origin_of_the_Solar_SystemThe_Nebular_Hy
pothesis#:~:text=The%20nebular%20hypothesis%20is%20the,with
%20orbiting%20planets%20%5B12%5D
. On Dec 12
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