How are planets formed?

US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — How did the planets of the solar system form? According to a leading theory known as the “protoplanetary hypothesis”, small space objects collided with each other, resulting in their fusion. So large planets were formed, including gas giants such as Jupiter. But how, tell me, did this happen ?! Let’s get it right.

Birth of the Sun

According to this theory, about 4.6 billion years ago, there was nothing but free accumulations of gas and dust on the site of today’s solar system. These are nebulae known to us. One example is the Orion Nebula, which you can observe in the night sky.

Then, scientists say, something happened that caused a change in pressure in the center of the cloud. Perhaps the reason was a nearby supernova explosion or a change in the gravity of a passing star. One way or another, according to NASA, the cloud “crumbled”, and a disk formed from matter.

The pressure in the center of the disk has increased so much that the hydrogen atoms, which previously moved freely in the cloud, began to contact each other. In the end, this interaction led to their fusion and the formation of helium. This is what prompted the formation of the Sun.

The sun was like a hungry baby and absorbed up to 99% of what was around it. However, still 1% of the matter remained. It was here that the process of planet formation began.

Chaos time

At that time, the solar system was, as they say, in disarray. But the planets formed relatively quickly. Gas and small particles of dust began to collect in clots. The young Sun pushed most of the gas into the back of the Solar System. The heat emanating from it was enough to evaporate any ice that was nearby. Over time, planets formed: rocky bodies are located closer to the Sun, and gas giants – further from it.

However, about four billion years ago, as a result of an event called by scientists “late heavy bombardment,” small bodies fell upon large objects in the solar system. According to the theory, the Earth was almost destroyed after an object commensurate with Mars crashed into it.

The reasons for this “bombardment” are still a mystery, however, according to some scientists, this is due to the fact that the gas giants, moving around small bodies on the periphery of the solar system, “disturbed” them. Whatever the reason, in simple terms, the merger of protoplanets ultimately led to the formation of planets.

The processes of planet formation in the solar system cannot be considered fully completed. Between Mars and Jupiter there is a belt of asteroids that could possibly merge into planets if Jupiter’s gravity were not so strong. In addition, there are many comets and asteroids that are sometimes called the “building blocks” of our solar system.

What do we have today

One of the most serious problems of this theory is the lack of records of the early history of the solar system.

However, astronomers have found as many as two ways to get around this problem. The first of these is simple observation. Using powerful telescopes such as ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array), astronomers can observe protoplanetary disks around young planets. We have numerous examples of stars around which planets are born.

The second way is to simulate. To test their observations and hypotheses, astronomers create computer models. Moreover, testing is carried out several times under various conditions. If all experiments show that the model is working, then probably it is true.

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