What does the nebular theory explain?

Our solar system formed at the same time as our Sun as described in the nebular hypothesis. The nebular hypothesis is the idea that a spinning cloud of dust made of mostly light elements, called a nebula, flattened into a protoplanetary disk, and became a solar system consisting of a star with orbiting planets [12].

What is protoplanet theory?

protoplanet, in astronomical theory, a hypothetical eddy in a whirling cloud of gas or dust that becomes a planet by condensation during formation of a solar system.

What are the 6 stages of nebular theory?

Terms in this set (6)

  • Formation begins and gravity causes the nebula to contract.
  • gravity pulls in the mass of the nebula in, then starts spinning, then the disk forms (planetary, solar disk); gravitational energy gets converted to thermal energy (heat); gets so hot, then nuclear fusion, then the sun is born.

What is accretion theory?

Accretion Theory is the theory that the particles that formed after the big bang slowly clustered together to form asteroids, planets, and even stars. This happens as a cloud of gaseous material & dust compresses to form an Accretion disc, which serves as a catalyst for the formation of a sun and the rest of a galaxy.

What are the 3 theories of the solar system?

These are the Nebular Hypothesis of Laplace, the Planetesimal Hypothesis of Chamberlin and Moulton, and the Capture Theory of See.

What is the only planet that contains life?

Earth
Among the stunning variety of worlds in our solar system, only Earth is known to host life.

What is the composition of protoplanets?

Elements
Lithophile (silicate) Siderophile+chalcophile (sulfide+metal)
Main component Tc=1,350–1,250 K
Mg, Si, Cr, Li Fe, Ni, Co, Pd
Moderately volatile Tc=1,230–640 K

What are the three steps to the nebula theory?

Three processes occurred with the nebular collapse: Temperatures continued to increase. The solar nebula spun faster and faster. The solar nebula disk flattened.

What force causes the nebula to contract?

The dust and gases in a nebula are very spread out, but gravity can slowly begin to pull together clumps of dust and gas. As these clumps get bigger and bigger, their gravity gets stronger and stronger. Eventually, the clump of dust and gas gets so big that it collapses from its own gravity.

How are planets formed by accretion?

Early on, our Solar System was a disk of dust and gas in orbit around the proto-Sun. The solid materials collided with each other and accreted to form gradually larger bodies, until the Solar System’s four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) were formed.

How did Otto Schmidt describe the interstellar cloud?

Interstellar cloud hypothesis In 1943, Soviet astronomer Otto Schmidt proposed that the Sun, in its present form, passed through a dense interstellar cloud and emerged enveloped in a cloud of dust and gas, from which the planets eventually formed.