Origin of the Solar System
A. The Large & Small Scale Features of the Solar System
The following are the large scale features of the solar system:
The isolation of the planets are arranged in such an orderly intervals.
All planets follow a near circular or elliptical orbits around the sun.
All planets are located in the same plane
The revolutions of the planet are in such a prograde manner.
The following are the small scale features of the solar system:
The rotations of the planets are in prograde manner.
The moons can be identified as regular objects with spherical orbit or irregular objects with a different orbit.
The planets found are of the following characteristics: there are high densities, they have slow rotation, have high densities, thick atmosphere and mostly rocky or icy surfaces
B. Hypothesis explaining the origin of the Solar System
The Encounter Hypothesis
The Nebular Hypothesis
The Protoplanet Hypothesis
The Planetesimal Hypothesis
The Encounter Hypothesis suggests that the Solar System formed as a result of a near collision between a passing star and the Sun.
The Nebular Hypothesis explained that the Solar System originated from a nebula that was disrupted by a nearby supernova.
Protoplanet an astronomical object, approximately the size of the Moon, formed from the mutual gravitational attraction of planetesimals; they are thought to collide with each other and slowly form planets .
Planetesimal any of many small, solid astronomical objects, that orbit a star and form protoplanets through mutual gravitational attraction
The Sun and other Stars
The Sun is the heart of our solar system and its gravity is what keeps every planet and particle in orbit. This yellow dwarf star is just one of billions like it across the Milky Way galaxy.
Many scientists think the sun and the rest of the solar system formed from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula. As the nebula collapsed because of its gravity, it spun faster and flattened into a disk. Most of the material was pulled toward the center to form the sun.
The layers of the Sun:
The inner layers are the Core, Radiative Zone and Convection Zone.
The outer layers are the Photosphere, the Chromosphere, the Transition Region and the Corona.
Stars are the most widely recognized astronomical objects, and represent the most fundamental building blocks of galaxies. The age, distribution, and composition of the stars in a galaxy trace the history, dynamics, and evolution of that galaxy. Moreover, stars are responsible for the manufacture and distribution of heavy elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and their characteristics are intimately tied to the characteristics of the planetary systems that may coalesce about them. Consequently, the study of the birth, life, and death of stars is central to the field of astronomy.