The Nebular Hypothesis explains how our solar system formed from a giant cloud of gas and dust called a nebula. Here's a breakdown of the key steps:
It all starts with a nebula, a vast cloud of hydrogen, helium, and dust. These nebulae are the birthplaces of stars and planets.
Gravity causes the nebula to contract and collapse in on itself. This collapse might be triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. As the nebula shrinks, it begins to spin faster.
As the nebula spins faster, it flattens into a rotating disk called a protoplanetary disk. Most of the mass concentrates in the center, forming a protostar.
The protostar at the center continues to accumulate mass and becomes denser and hotter. Eventually, nuclear fusion ignites in the core, and the protostar becomes a star (like our Sun!).
Within the protoplanetary disk, dust grains collide and stick together through electrostatic forces, forming larger and larger clumps called planetesimals.
Planetesimals continue to collide and accrete, growing into protoplanets. These protoplanets eventually clear their orbits and become the planets we know today. Closer to the star, rocky planets form, while gas giants form farther out where it's colder.
The remaining gas and dust in the protoplanetary disk are blown away by the young star's solar wind, leaving behind the fully formed solar system.
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