The Origin of the Solar System

Over the centuries, many theories for the origin of our solar system have been suggested, then discounted. Even today there is no satisfactory model that both completely explains all the facts and is consistent with the known laws of physics.

Image at right: Ghost Nebula - Our Solar System may have formed from a similar nebula.
Image Credit: George Herbig and Theodore Simon

Beginning with a "Solar Nebula," the process took millions of years to end up with the planets we know today. The sun still contains most of the material of the original solar nebula. Its internal nuclear reactions have modified the material at the sun’s core. However, the surface layers, which have not mixed with the core in its present state, have quite accurately preserved the original nebular composition.

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