Origin of the Solar System

Solar System

is a group of celestial objects that orbit around our Sun, which is the center of our _.

8 Planets

Dwarf Planets

Moons

Asteroids

Meteoroids

Comets

The 6 Members of the Solar System

Vortex Theory

René Descartes in 1644 suggested that the solar system formed through a whirlpool-like motion (vortex motion) in space. He imagined space filled with tiny particles moving in circular paths, like water swirling in a drain.

Geocentric Theory

Claudius Ptolemy said the Earth is at the center of the universe, and all celestial bodies, including the Sun and planets, revolve around Earth.

Heliocentric Theory

Nicolaus Copernicus said the Sun is at the center of the universe, and all planets, including Earth, orbit around the Sun.

Collision Theory

George Louis Buffon proposed that the Solar System was created when a giant comet collided with the Sun.

Tidal Theory

James Hopwood Jeans and Harold Jeffreys suggests that a massive star passed very close to the Sun, and its gravitational pull caused huge amounts of gas and material to be drawn out from the Sun.

Nebular Theory

Immanuel Kant and Pierre Simon Laplace said the Solar System was formed from a large, rotating cloud of gas and dust called a nebula.

Carl von Weizsacker and Victor Safronov

Who modernized the Nebular Theory?

Nebula Form

Gravitational Collapse

Formation of a Spinning Disk

Protostar Formation

Planetesimal Formation

Protoplanet Development

Clearing the Nebula

Step-by-Step Process of the Nebular Theory

Accretion

The process where dust and particles stick together and grow in size

Planetesimal

A small object formed from dust and rock, which can merge into a planet

Protostar

A young star that is still forming from collapsing gas

Nuclear Fusion

Process that powers the sun — hydrogen atoms combine to form helium, releasing energy

Nebula Forms

A cloud of hydrogen, helium, and small amounts of heavier elements exists in space. This nebula might be a leftover from a supernova explosion

Gravitational Collapse

An external force (like a shockwave from a nearby supernova) disturbs the nebula, causing it to collapse due to gravity.

Formation of a Spinning Disk

As the nebula collapses, it spins faster and flattens, forming a rotating disk with most mass concentrating at the center.

Protostar Formation

The center of the disk becomes extremely hot and dense. Once the temperature reaches around 10 million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion begins, leading to the birth of the Sun

Planetesimal Formation

In the outer parts of the disk, small dust and ice particles stick together through a process called accretion, forming planetesimals.

Protoplanet Development

Planetesimals continue to collide and merge, forming larger bodies called protoplanets. Some of these grew big enough to become the planets we have today.

Clearing the Nebula

Once the Sun became active, its solar wind (stream of charged particles) blew away the remaining gas and dust, leaving behind the planets, moons, and other solar system objects.