Question 1:
List and briefly describe each of the six steps involved in the formation of the solar system.
Response:
Step 1: Gravitational Collapse
An interstellar cloud of gas that is known as the solar nebula collapsed under its own gravity. The collapse may have been caused by a cataclysmic event. After that, gravity allowed the collapse to continue. This lead to the heating, spinning and flattening of the solar nebula. The Sun formed in the center of the collapsing solar nebula where the temperatures and densities were at their highest. The spinning ensured that the solar nebula did not collapse all of its material into the center. This allowed the material to be spread out more. Finally, the solar nebula was flattened into a disk.
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However, this mix of elements did not always exist. From the time of the Big Bang until shortly after galaxies began to form a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, the only elements in the universe were hydrogen and helium (with very small amounts of lithium and beryllium). All other elements were created much later by stellar nucleosynthesis in evolving and exploding stars.
What are the consequences for the formation of stellar and planetary systems during the first years of the Galaxy? Could our solar system have formed then?
Explain.
Response:
The formation of these early stellar and planetary systems allowed for heavier elements to be introduced into the universe. When stars exploded, the heavier elements generated in the cores of these stars were expelled into the universe. Our solar system could not have formed then because much of our solar system is made from the heavier elements.
Question 3:
Suppose the solar wind had cleared away the solar nebula before the seeds of the Jovian planets could gravitationally draw in hydrogen and helium gas. How would the planets of the outer solar system be different? Would they still have many moons? Explain.
...f gas, which collapsed and broke up into individual stars. The stars are packed together most tightly in the center, or nucleus. Scientists believe it is possible that at the very center there was too much matter to form an ordinary star, or that the stars which did form were so close to each other that they coalesced to form a black hole. It is argued that really massive black holes, equivalent to a hundred million stars like the Sun, could exist at the center of some galaxies
Our Solar System was formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago during the Big Bang with the collapse of an interstellar body (Lammer et al., 2009). During these supernova explosions, the dusts and gases that were expelled were mixed and processed to form the planets of our system (Lammer et al., 2009, Nisbet and Sleep, 2001).
Elements are the basic building blocks of matter due to the fact that they are chemically the simplest substances. Whether we can find them in the air or in our gold/silver necklaces, elements are everywhere! One essential element is hydrogen, the first element on the period table (located under Group 1 as an alkaline metal) is composed of a single proton and electron; therefore having an atomic number and atomic mass of 1 and electron configuration of 1s1. In fact, hydrogen is the lightest, simplest and most commonly found chemical element in the universe (it makes up about 90% of the universe by weight). Interestingly enough, the heavier elements on the periodic table were either made from hydrogen or other elements that were made from hydrogen. The most common isotope formed of hydrogen is protium, with 1 proton and no neutrons. Hydrogen can also exist as both positively or negatively charged. The physical form of hydrogen at room temperature is a colorless and odorless gas. Hydrogen gas is extremely flammable and because of this chemical property, it is used as fuel for the main engine of space shuttles. Hydrogen is an important element and has received a lot of recognition throughout history for its usefulness.
The majority of people have a very basic understanding of Earth, the planet we reside in, let alone the seven other planets in our solar system. The eight planets surrounding our star, the Sun, are separated into two very simple categories: Jovian and Terrestrial Planets. Throughout this paper, I will be explaining the basic structure and properties of the eight planets in our solar system, along with a brief history on the discovery of our solar system and what’s to come in the future. I will also go in depth into the difference between the Jovian Planets and the Terrestrial Planets, from the basic differences to the different structures and properties.
...leted of its nuclear fuel and lost its outer layers. When a small to medium (less than 10 solar masses) main-sequence star begins to run out of fuel in its core, the core will begin to collapse where hydrogen on the edges of the collapsed core can be compressed and heated (Chandra 2012). The nuclear fusion of this new hydrogen will create a new gush of power that will make the outer layers of the star to expand out; this is known as the red giant phase. In the red giant phase over millions of years, all of the stars energy supplies are used up leaving behind a hot core that is still surrounded by the expanded outer layers. The outer layers are eventually expelled by stellar winds which end up creating a planetary nebula and the hot core left behind forms a white dwarf star where the pull of gravity is supported by degeneracy pressure (p. 538 Bennett en al. 2013).
Stars are born and reborn from an explosion of a previous star. The particles and helium are brought together the same way the last star was born. Throughout the life of a star, it manages to avoid collapsing. The gravitational pull from the core of the star has to equal the gravitational pull of the gasses, which form a type of orbit. When this equality is broken, the star can go into several different stages. Some stars that are at least thirty times larger than our sun can form black holes and other kinds of stars.
Solar nebula is a rotating flattened disk of gas and dust in which the outer part of the disk became planets while the center bulge part became the sun. Its inner part is hot, which is heated by a young sun and due to the impact of the gas falling on the disk during its collapse. However, the outer part is cold and far below the freezing point of water. In the solar nebula, the process of condensation occurs after enough cooling of solar nebula and results in the formation into a disk. Condensation is a process of cooling the gas and its molecules stick together to form liquid or solid particles. Therefore, condensation is the change from gas to liquid. In this process, the gas must cool below a critical temperature. Accretion is the process in which the tiny condensed particles from the nebula begin to stick together to form bigger pieces. Solar nebular theory explains the formation of the solar system. In the solar nebula, tiny grains stuck together and created bigger grains that grew into clumps, possibly held together by electrical forces similar to those that make lint stick to your clothes. Subsequent collisions, if not too violent, allowed these smaller particles to grow into objects ranging in size from millimeters to kilometers. These larger objects are called planetesimals. As planetesimals moved within the disk and collide with one another, planets formed. Because astronomers have no direct way to observe how the Solar System formed, they rely heavily on computer simulations to study that remote time. Computer simulations try to solve Newton’s laws of motion for the complex mix of dust and gas that we believe made up the solar nebula. Merging of the planetesimals increased their mass and thus their gravitational attraction. That, in turn, helped them grow even more massive by drawing planetesimals into clumps or rings around the sun. The process of planets building undergoes consumption of most of the planetesimals. Some survived planetesimals form small moons, asteroids, and comets. The leftover Rocky planetesimals that remained between Jupiter and Mars were stirred by Jupiter’s gravitational force. Therefore, these Rocky planetesimals are unable to assemble into a planet. These planetesimals are known as asteroids. Formation of solar system is explained by solar nebular theory. A rotating flat disk with center bulge is the solar nebula. The outer part of the disk becomes planets and the center bulge becomes the sun.
Stars are born within galaxies and are formed by gas and the collapse of dust clouds, called a nebula. The star’s main goal in life is to reach equilibrium which means that there is not a net overall change in the star. In a stable star, the gas pressure pushing out from the center is equal with the gravity pulling atoms inward to the center – when these...
There are five basic theories in the formation of our moon. The first is the "fission theory" which states that the moon was once a part of earth, but separated a long time ago. The second theory is called the "capture theory". This theory is says that the moon formed somewhere else, and was "captured" by earths gravitational pull. The third theory is called the "condensation theory" this theory states that the moon and earth were condemned together from the original nebula that formed our solar system. The fourth theory called the "Colliding Planetesimals Theory" states that the interaction between the earth orbiting the sun, and the sun orbiting planetesimals, which are large Astroid like rocks, led to the breakup and formation of our moon from the debris of these planetesimals. The fifth and final theory is called ...
A star begins as nothing more than a very light distribution of interstellar gases and dust particles over a distance of a few dozen lightyears. Although there is extremely low pressure existing between stars, this distribution of gas exists instead of a true vacuum. If the density of gas becomes larger than .1 particles per cubic centimeter, the interstellar gas grows unstable. Any small deviation in density, and because it is impossible to have a perfectly even distribution in these clouds this is something that will naturally occur, and the area begins to contract. This happens because between about .1 and 1 particles per cubic centimeter, pressure gains an inverse relationship with density. This causes internal pressure to decrease with increasing density, which because of the higher external pressure, causes the density to continue to increase. This causes the gas in the interstellar medium to spontaneously collect into denser clouds. The denser clouds will contain molecular hydrogen (H2) and interstellar dust particles including carbon compounds, silicates, and small impure ice crystals. Also, within these clouds, there are 2 types of zones. There are H I zones, which contain neutral hydrogen and often have a temperature around 100 Kelvin (K), and there are H II zones, which contain ionized hydrogen and have a temperature around 10,000 K. The ionized hydrogen absorbs ultraviolet light from it’s environment and retransmits it as visible and infrared light. These clouds, visible to the human eye, have been named nebulae. The density in these nebulae is usually about 10 atoms per cubic centimeter. In brighter nebulae, there exists densities of up to several thousand atoms per cubic centimete...
Stars are born in the interstellar clouds of gas and dust called nebulae that are primarily found in the spiral arms of galaxies. These clouds are composed mainly of hydrogen gas but also contain carbon, oxygen and various other elements, but we will see that the carbon and oxygen play a crucial role in star formation so they get special mention. A nebula by itself is not enough to form a star however, and it requires the assistance of some outside force. A close passing star or a shock wave from a supernova or some other event can have just the needed effect. It is the same idea as having a number of marbles on a trampoline and then rolling a larger ball through the middle of them or around the edges. The marbles will conglomerate around the path of the ball, and as more marbles clump together, still more will be attracted. This is essentially what happens during the formation of a star (Stellar Birth, 2004).
Our solar system, as we see it today, originally formed from the collapse of a very cold and low-density cloud of gas. The mass of this cloud was composed of 98% hydrogen and helium, 1.4% hydrogen compounds, .4% rock, and .2% metal. The nebula was thought to be a few light years across and was roughly spherical in shape. The cloud was in a state of balance, it was neither contracting or expanding, until a cataclysmic event, most likely a supernova, created a shock wave through the nebula, resulting in an area of higher mass. Once this area became more massive than the rest of the nebula it begin to collapse with the area of hig...
...ions happen. Supernovas give off many elements we have today including hydrogen and heavier elements such as iron. Supernovas also play a big role in creating new stars because the aftermath of the explosion creates an elemental environment for new interstellar reactions to occur. Discovery of a supernova was difficult at first, given the fact that most occur far away from our galaxy, but new technology now allow scientist to discover many supernova within may galaxies.
Generally, the universe began as a composition of radiation and subatomic particles, which proceeded with galaxies formation. Galaxies are made up of hydrogen, helium, 100-200 billions of stars, planets and most having a black hole at the center, which attracts everything present in galaxies by force of gravity. Galaxies can be classified as either spiral (Milky Way- galaxy which human kind has been found to exist), elliptical, lenticular and irregular, where the structure is determined by neighboring galaxies with most galaxies are moving away from each other. Classification of galaxies is being conducted by online programs such as Galaxy zoo, using pictures from telescopes and is making significant progress.
The idea behind the Solar Nebular Hypothesis is that the solar system was condensed from an enormous cloud of hydrogen, helium, and a few other elements and rocks. Around five billion years this cloud of materials began to spin and contract together into a disk shape under their own gravitational forces. The particles started combined together, protoplanets, to eventually form planets. A great mass of the material eventually began to form together, protosun, and make up the sun.