The solar nebular hypothesis describes the formation of our solar system from a nebula cloud made from a collection of dust and gas. It is believed that the sun, planets, moons, and asteroids were formed around the same time around 4.5 billion years ago from a nebula.
Q. How does the nebular theory describe the formation of the solar system?
Currently the best theory is the Nebular Theory . This states that the solar system developed out of an interstellar cloud of dust and gas, called a nebula . Most likely the next step was that the nebula flattened into a disk called the Protoplanetary Disk ; planets eventually formed from and in this disk.
Table of Contents
- Q. How does the nebular theory describe the formation of the solar system?
- Q. Why did the solar nebula heat up as it?
- Q. What material is used in the solar nebula?
- Q. Why solar nebula is important?
- Q. What are the two main groupings of planets called?
- Q. Why do we have 2 types of planets and not just 1?
- Q. Is Class M planet a real thing?
Q. Why did the solar nebula heat up as it?
Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed? A) Nuclear fusion occurring in the core of the protosun produced energy that heated the nebula. As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to kinetic energy and then into thermal energy.
Q. What material is used in the solar nebula?
The solar nebula is initially a thin gas of hydrogen and helium strewn with tiny dust particles. These tiny grains serve as the building blocks of the planets. Dust grains play an important role in the evolution of any gas cloud. These grains act as condensation nuclei, on which accretion of matter occurs.
Q. Why solar nebula is important?
Approximately 4.6 billion years ago, the solar system was a cloud of dust and gas known as a solar nebula. But farther away, the solar winds had less impact on lighter elements, allowing them to coalesce into gas giants. In this way, asteroids, comets, planets and moons were created.
Q. What are the two main groupings of planets called?
Planets are generally divided into two groups: the terrestrial and the giant planets.
Q. Why do we have 2 types of planets and not just 1?
Planets come in different sizes and so have different gravity levels. Mars is smaller than Earth so has less gravity. Smaller planets are also less likely to have an atmosphere, as there may not be enough gravity to hold the gases to the surface.
Q. Is Class M planet a real thing?
In the real universe such planets would also be known as class M, but for different reasons. Earth is therefore a class m planet, since it is in the “goldilocks zone” for our Sun, but then so are Venus and Mars. We can also categorize exoplanets by their size or mass by how they compare to known planets.
