The Solar System
The Solar System: Formation, Planets, Wonders, and Everything You Need to Know...
What is the Solar System?
The solar system refers to a collection of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and gas and dust that orbit around the star known as the Sun. This system consists of rocky planets including Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars; gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn; and ice giants like Uranus and Neptune. Between Mars and Jupiter lies a collection of asteroids known as the asteroid belt, while beyond Neptune is a group of small icy bodies called the Kuiper Belt. Dwarf planet Pluto is also considered part of the Kuiper Belt.
How the Solar System Formed
About 4.6 billion years ago, a dark cloud of gas and dust underwent gravitational collapse. This cloud compressed into a rotating disk known as the solar nebula. The heat and pressure eventually became so intense that hydrogen atoms fused together to form helium. Nuclear interactions released vast amounts of energy, leading to the formation of the Sun.
The Sun collected nearly 99% of the material in the solar nebula, while the remaining material formed similar clumps within the rotating disk. Some of this material accumulated enough mass and gravity to become spherical bodies or planets, dwarf planets, and moons. Other leftover pieces formed meteoroids, comets, and other celestial bodies in the solar system.
Meteoroids or space rocks that fell to Earth have helped scientists estimate the age of the solar system. Some of these small pieces originated from moons or planets that can provide fascinating scientific information about their parent body's chemical characteristics and history. Others had been orbiting since before planet formation in our solar system. The Allende meteorite, which fell to Earth in 1969, is one of the most well-known meteorites with an age of 4.55 billion years.
According to scientists, the solar system was formed during a nearby star's explosion or supernova process. This theory suggests that the explosion sent shock waves into space that compressed the solar nebula together until it ultimately collapsed. The supernova likely directed materials into the nebula.
