How Did The Solar System Form?
244The birth of our solar system is a very important talking point in the grand scheme of our universe. But how exactly did everything in our universe form? Join me as we explore the creation of our solar system.
7. The Big Bang
In the beginning...there was nothing. Or at the very least that's what most people tell themselves, it's very hard to determine what really was, or wasn't, at the beginning of time, but regardless of what was there before, there is little doubt in the minds of many that a great "" happened in the "center" of the universe. Mainly that there was a an e of energy and matter that moved out in all directions, and that it was through this ethat the birth of the universe came. This is known as the Big Bang Theory, and it's one of the most debated and researched areas of science today. Mainly because while many scientists think about how this could be, and how it makes sense that the Big Bang happened, others aren't so sure.
After all, how could such an happen? And by that if it happened once billions of years ago, why hasn't it happened since? According to scientists our solar system is over 4.6 years old, so why hasn't another Big Bang happened since then? Another problem is how the universe itself was formed, if it was all a random expansion of matter and energy, then why is it that only Earth has life on it that we know of?
These and many more questions are what make the Big Bang Theory such a massive debate, but lost in the shuffle is one of a much smaller scale. Mainly, the scale of our own solar system. Because even if the Big Bang did create the universe, you kind of have to wonder just how our own solar system got made. What events led to everything being like it is right now?
6. What Came First and How?
Depending on who you talk to, the events of the Big Bang are much different than you would think. Some think that they e of energy and matter allowed planets to be formed near instantly (though admittedly not in their "final form" as we know them now), while others believe that the process of forming the planets and stars took a lot of time and events to happen.
The latter option is what we'll be discussing today, because one of the most prominent theories and beliefs about how our own solar system came to be was not that it happened near instantly, but that it came from a series of events that led to the slow and methodical construction of each of the nine planets in the solar system. It's known as the "Solar Nebula Theory", and it's one that is backed up by certain sciences.
To put it loosely, the Solar Nebula theory states that when our particular section of space was made (focusing on our own solar system and not the larger galaxy) there was a massive volume of gas that just loomed around. It apparently was so large that it measured 100 astronomical units in length. For the record, 1 AU (astronomical unit) is the distance between the Earth and the sun, which is 93 million miles away for the record. So now imagine a massive cloud of space gasses, dust and molecules that is 930 million miles across. It was from this that came our solar system, although it obviously didn't look like that to begin with.
So through this cloud, everything started to form. But...what exactly was the first thing to form? Well, what's the center of our solar system? That's right, it's the sun, and that was the first domino to fall.
5. The Sun
Ok, so apparently there is this giant mass of space cloud hovering where our solar system is supposed to be, right? But how does it go from a massive cloud to a bright ball of warmth and energy we call the sun? Time, pressure, and a little bit of luck.
Most scientists who believe in the Solar Nebula theory understand the concept of the cloud being there and then somehow starting to make the planets and the sun But what many aren't sure about is the actual 'event' that led to it folding in upon itself. Meaning? Meaning...there isn't a giant cloud of dust and such right outside our planet, right? Something had to trigger the cloud to compress, to fold in on itself to make things that wasn't just gasses, and no one is really sure how that happened. Some think it was the byproduct of a nearby supernova, but it's all just speculation.
What we do know (or at least can theorize) is that when this started to happen, when the Solar Nebula started to destabilize, it compressed upon itself, and when you have a massive thing of gas folding in on itself, things tend to get massive.
And as the cloud began to compress, it also started spinning, until eventually there was a giant pancake disc spinning around in our solar system. Not exactly a sun, but a big step in getting there. In fact, most label this as a "Protostar", and when that happened the sun was born...right? Not exactly.
Because while it was a protostar..