The Nebular Theory of the origin of the Solar System

Any model of Solar System formation must explain the following facts:

1. All the orbits of the planets are prograde (i.e. if seen from above the North pole of the Sun
they all revolve in a counter-clockwise direction).

2. All the planets (except Pluto) have orbital planes that are inclined by less than 6 degrees
with respect to each other (i.e. all in the same plane).

3. Terrestrial planets are dense, rocky and small, while jovian planets are gaseous and large.

Contraction of interstellar cloud

Solar system formed about 4.6 billion year ago, when gravity pulled together low-density
cloud of interstellar gas and dust (called a nebula)

Initially the cloud was about several light years across. A small over density in the cloud
caused the contraction to begin and the over density to grow, thus producing a faster
contraction (run away or collapse process)

Initially, most of the motions of the cloud particles were random, yet the nebula had a net
rotation. As collapse proceeded, the rotation speed of the cloud was gradually increasing due
to conservation of angular momentum.

Gravitational collapse was much more efficient along the spin axis, so the rotating ball
collapsed into thin disk with a diameter of 200 AU (0.003 light years) (twice Pluto's orbit),
aka solar nebula, with most of the mass concentrated near the center.

As the cloud contracted, its gravitational potential energy was converted into kinetic energy
of the individual gas particles. Collisions between particles converted this energy into heat
(random motions). The solar nebula became hottest near the center where much of the mass
was collected to form the protosun (the cloud of gas that became Sun).

At some point the central temperature rose to 10 million K. The collisions among the atoms
were so violent that nuclear reactions began, at which point the Sun was born as a star,
containing 99.8% of the total mass.

What prevented further collapse? As the temperature and density increased toward the
center, so did the pressure causing a net force pointing outward. The Sun reached a balance
between the gravitational force and the internal pressure, also known as as hydrostatic
equilibrium, after 50 million years.

Around the Sun a thin disk gives birth to the planets, moons, asteroids and comets. Over
recent years we have gathered evidence in support of this theory.

The structure of the disk

The disk contained only 0.2% of the mass of the solar nebula with particles moving in
circular orbits. The rotation of the disk prevented further collapse of the disk.

Uniform composition: 75% of the mass in the form of hydrogen, 25% as helium, and all
other elements comprising only 2% of the total.

The material reached several thousand degrees near the center due to the release of
gravitational energy. it was vaporized. Farther out the material was primarily gaseous
because H and He remain gaseous even at very low T. The disk was so spread out that gravity
was not strong enough to pull material and form planets.

Where did solid seeds for planet formation come from? As the disk radiated away its internal
heat in the form of infrared radiation (Wien's law) the temperature dropped and the heaviest
molecules began to form tiny solid or liquid droplets, a process called condensation.

There is a clear relation between the temperature and the mass of the particles that become
solid (Why?). Near the Sun, where the T was higher, only the heaviest compounds condensed
forming heavy solid grains, including compounds of aluminium, titanium, iron, nickel, and,
at somewhat cooler temperatures, the silicates. In the outskirts of the disk the T was low
enough that hydrogen-rich molecules condensed into lighter ices, including water ice, frozen
methane, and frozen ammonia.

The ingredients of the solar system fell into four categories:

Metals: iron, nickel, aluminium. They condense at T~1,600 K and comprise only
0.2% of the disk.
Rocks: silicon-based minerals that condense at T=500-1,300 K (0.4% of the

o
nebula).
o

Ices: hydrogen compounds like methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), water (H2O) that
condense at T~150 K and make up 1.4% of the mass.
Light gases: hydrogen and helium that never condensed in the disk (98% of the

o
disk).

The great temperature differences between the hot inner regions and the cool outer regions of
the disk determined what of condensates were available for planet formation at each location
from the center. The inner nebula was rich in heavy solid grains and deficient in ices and
gases. The outskirts are rich in ice, H, and He.

Meteorites provide evidence for this theory.

A piece of Allende meteorite showing white inclusions. The inclusions are aluminum-rich
minerals that formed first in the solar nebula. The inclusions are surrounded by material with
lower condensation temperatures which aggregated later.

Formation of the planets

The first solid particles were microscopic in size. They orbited the Sun in nearly circular
orbits right next to each other, as the gas from which they condensed. Gently collisions allowed
the flakes to stick together and make larger particles which, in turn, attracted more solid
particles. This process is called accretion.
The objects formed by accretion are called planetesimals (small planets): they act as seeds
for planet formation. At first, planetesimals were closely packed. They coalesced into larger
objects, forming clumps of up to a few kilometers across in a few million years, a small time
compared to the age of the solar system.
Once planetesimals had grown to these sizes, collisions became destructive, making further
growth more difficult. Only the biggest planetesimals survived this fragmentation process and
continued to slowly grow into protoplanets by accretion of planetesimals of similar composition.
After protoplanet formed, accumulation of heat from radioactive decay of short-lived
elements melted planet, allowing materials to differentiate (to separate according to their
density).

Inner structure of the Earth

Formation of terrestrial planets

o In the warmer inner solar system, planetesimals formed from rock and metal, materials
cooked billions of years ago in cores of massive stars.
o These elements made up only 0.6% of the material in the solar nebula (and the faster
collisions among particles close to the Sun were more destructive on average), so the planets
could not grow very large and could not exert large pull on hydrogen and helium gas.
o Even if terrestrial planets had hydrogen and helium, proximity to Sun would heat gases and
cause them to escape.
o Hence, terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are dense small worlds
composed mostly from 2% of heavier elements contained in solar nebula.

Formation of jovian planets

o In the outer solar nebula, planetesimals formed from ice flakes in addition to rocky and metal
flakes.
o Since ices were more abundant the planetesimals could grow to a much larger sizes,
becoming the cores of the four jovian (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) planets.
o The cores were sufficiently large (at least 15 times Earth's mass) that they were able to
capture hydrogen and helium gas from the surroundings (nebular capture) and form a thick
atmosphere.
o They became the large, gaseous, low-density worlds rich in hydrogen and helium, with dense
solid cores.

Far from Sun (beyond Neptune), in coldest regions of the nebula, icy planetesimals survived.
However, the density of the disk was so low that the icy/dusty planetesimals could only grow
to the size of a few kilometers. They could not accrete the surrounding gas so they remained
like small dirty snowballs. They constitute the family of Kuiper belt comets, a prediction of
the theory of the formation of the solar system which was confirmed in 1990.

Pluto does not fit the category of terrestrial or jovian planet. It is small, like terrestrial planets,
but lies far away from Sun and has low density just like jovian planets. In fact, some astronomers
believe that Pluto belongs to the family of comets (probably the largest member).
Asteroid belt. Located between Mars and Jupiter -- is made of thousand of rocky planetesimals
from 1,000 km to a few meters across. These are thought to be debris of the formation of the
solar system that could not form a planet due to Jupiter's gravity. When asteroids collide they
produce small fragments that occasionally fall on Earth. These rocks are called meteorites and
provide valuable information about the primordial solar nebula. Most of these fragments have the
size of sand grains. They burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, causing them to glow like meteors
(or shooting stars).

Formation of moon systems

As the early jovian planets captured large amounts of gas, the same process that formed the solar
nebula. Contraction, spinning, flattening and heating formed similar but smaller disks of material
around these planets. Condensation and accretion took place within the jovian nebulae, creating a
miniature solar system around each jovian planet (Jupiter has well over a dozen moons!).
Double planet hypothesis'': the planet and its moon assembled independently at same time from
the same rocks and dust.

The moons formed elsewhere and then captured (capture hypothesis). Mars, for example.
Other examples of likely captures -- Pluto and Charon, perhaps some of the jovian moons
and moonlets.

Giant impact of large body with young Earth explains Moon's composition.

Evolution of Solar System

The Sun, planets, moons, comets, asteroids are believed to form within 50-100 million years.
Once nuclear burning began in the Sun, it became a luminous object and cleared nebula as
pressure from its light and solar wind pushed material out of Solar System. Planets helped to
clean up by absorbing some planetesimals and ejecting others.
o Some of the planetesimals collided with the planets, causing craters or major effects. Uranus'
axis tilt may have been caused by a large impact. The Earth was probably hit by a Mars-size
object, ejecting debris that coalesced to form the Moon. The vast majority of the impacts
occurred in the first few hundred million years.
o Gravitational encounters with the planets ejected other planetesimals to remote parts of Solar
System.
Once Solar System was mostly clear of debris, planet building ended. Today, all solid surfaces
scarred by craters from meteorite impacts. The scars can be seen on the Moon, but erosion and
geological processes on Earth have been erasing the craters.

Impacts still occur at a lower rate (65 million years ago, an asteroid or comet impact is thought to
have caused the extinction of 90% of the species on Earth).
Venus, Earth and Mars acquired their atmospheres at later stages in formation of Solar System:
o The early bombardment brought some of the materials from which atmospheres and oceans
formed in the terrestrial planets. These compounds arrived in the inner planets after their
initial formation, most likely brought by impacts of planetesimals formed in the outskirts of
the solar system (Q: What was Jupiter's role in bringing water to Earth?).
o Outgassing (from gas blown out of volcanos) is another likely source for atmosphere's
formation.
o On Earth, oxygen, essential to animals, was produced by plants breaking down CO2.
Rings around giant planets, such as Saturn's, are probably resulting of stray planetesimals being
torn apart by gravity when they ventured too close to planet.
Important Terms (Definations)
As always there are very specific terms that need to be used to describe things in science and
most of these terms have been discussed in introductory courses, but some might be new to you.
Planet a few years ago there was not specific rule for what exactly a planet was. Since many
things orbit a star, including comets and asteroids, some guidelines had to be developed to help
astronomers decide which objects get planet status and which get reclassified as other types of

objects. This was mainly brought about by the discovery of several large objects in the outer
solar system. So in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (the group that defines
astronomical standards) voted on the criterion for what makes a planet. Here is the final
description
A celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a
hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and
(c) Has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
So basically it has to be big enough to be round and dominates it location around the Sun. This
definition rules out asteroids, Pluto and the other objects found in the area of Pluto, as well as
comets (not big enough).
Planetismals: these are the planetary building blocks that were common in the early solar
system. There are no specific guidelines for the sizes of these things, so they can be anywhere
from microscopic to about 1000 km in size. Over time many of these became incorporated into
the planets or satellites in our solar system, but some survived to the present day as other objects
(asteroids, dust, comets).
Satellite: A smaller object that orbits a planet, or other larger object in the solar system, also
referred to as a moon. Planets have satellites (both natural and man-made), but so do asteroids,
and it is even possible that comets could have satellites as well Planets Notes 1-4

Asteroid: A small rocky/metallic/icy object note the order of the materials, since that gives
the likely order of their dominance. Asteroids tend to be mainly rocky, though a fraction appears
to have a rather metallic composition. It is also likely that there is quite a bit of icy material
within asteroids, but it is difficult to estimate how much. It is also worth noting that icy is a
general term for things that are volatile they evaporate/melt easily under even moderate
conditions. All known asteroids are less than 1000 km in size.
Comet: A small icy/rocky object, so in this case there are more volatiles in the objects than
rocky material. It is sometimes the case that a comet is misclassified as an asteroid since it may
be discovered at a location where its volatile material doesnt evaporate so it looks like a rock
in space. When comets get close to the Sun they become more comet-like developing a halo of
gas and evaporated material around them, as well as forming tails. But when they are far from
the Sun (which is most of the time), they are considered dormant.
Rings: small particles in orbit about a planet. These would tend to be a collection of small
objects in orbit, not solitary objects. The composition and sources of ring particles are varied,
and rings may be made of either icy or rocky material, or a mix of both.
Planet Groups: Odds are you learned that there are two types of planets, Terrestrial and Jovian.
Well thats not entirely accurate. There are actually 3 types of planets in our solar system
Terrestrial, Gas Giants and Ice Giants.
Terrestrial: group of planets like the Earth, including the first four planets in the solar system in
order from the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
Gas Giants: objects comprised of mainly low density gases, includes Jupiter and Saturn.
Ice Giants: objects with a good fraction of ice in their interiors, includes Uranus and Neptune.
It might seem like Im splitting hairs to break up the outer planets into the gas and ice giants, but
their structures are distinct enough that breaking them apart in this way is logical.
And now onto terms that define location, motion and other aspects of planets
Ecliptic: The plane of the Earths orbit about the Sun. This is how we define our location in the
solar system and we reference the location of all other objects relative to this plane. It is also
seen as the apparent path of the sun, planets in the sky, and the location along which we see
eclipses (hence its name).
Revolution: the orbit of an object, as in the Earth revolves around the Sun, or The Moon
revolves around the Earth. Dont confuse it with the next term.
Rotation: the spin of an object along an axis. The Earth rotates once in approximately 24
hours, or the rotation of Venus is in the opposite direction to that of the Earth.
Perihelion: The location in an objects motion about the Sun where the object is closest to the
Sun. Planets Notes 1-5

Aphelion: The location in an objects motion about the Sun where the object is furthest from the
Sun.
And there are similar terms for an object being closest/furthest from other objects
Perigee, Apogee: the location that an object is closest/further from the Earth
Periapse, Apoapse: the location that an object is closest/further from a planet
Perijove, Apojove: the location that an object is closest/further from Jupiter
Similar terms exist for the other planets as well as the Moon. But thats overkill.
And speaking of orbits, some other terms pop up quite a bit. Most of these are defined as orbital
terms about the Sun.
Inclination (i): angle of the plane of an objects orbit with respect to the ecliptic. This is
basically a measure of how tilted the orbit of the object is compared to our orbit about the Sun.
Eccentricity (e): a measure of the elongation of the objects orbit about the Sun. Values range
typically from between 0 (circular) to 1 (straight line). For comets values of e can be greater than
1, in which case the orbit is hyperbolic.
Period (P): how long does it take to go around once.
Semi-major axis (a): for non-hyperbolic orbits, the average distance an object is from the Sun
and is equal to half of the widest length in the orbit.
Prograde, Retrograde: whether the motion is normal with respect to the Earths motion
(prograde), or backwards (retrograde). This can be applied to all motions including orbital,
rotational and the motions of moons as well. In our common view of the solar system we see
objects from above the north pole of the Earth, and in this case prograde motion is
counterclockwise and retrograde motion is clockwise. You may have also seen retrograde used in
reference to the apparent motion in the sky of objects such as Mars when it spends a few months
appearing to move backwards (westward).
And finally
Obliquity: tilt of a planets rotation axis with respect to its orbital plane. And of course if a
planets orbital plane is tilted relative to our orbital plane, then there can be some serious tilts out
there.

Planets in the Solar System

Mercury
Named for the messenger to the Roman gods, Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and as a
result, revolves around our star in the least amount of time.
Characteristics:

Mercury has a solid rocky surface and like the Moon, has many craters.

Mercury has a very weak atmosphere.

Mercury goes through extremes in temperatures. Daytime temperature can reach up to

450 C, which is enough to melt lead. On the other hand, the planet's night time side can be quite
cold, temperatures as low as -180 C have been recorded by Mariner 10.

Mercury has no moon.

It was first photographed from space by the American space probe Mariner 10 in 1974.

Venus
Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love, is known as Earth's "sister" planet because they
are very near in size, mass and density. However, the similarities end there. Venus is the planet
that approaches closest to Earth and can be the brightest object in the sky, next to the Sun and
Moon.
Characteristics:

Venus has a solid rocky surface that is now known to be covered with craters and
volcanic mountains.

Venus has clouds of sulfuric acid that cover the planet. Because of this, we cannot see its
surface.

Venus has a very dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) that has the property of
letting in sunlight but does not permit the resulting heat to escape. This, together with the planet's
relative proximity to the Sun has caused temperatures on Venus to reach up to 455 C. This is
commonly known as the greenhouse effect. The atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus is
90 times that of Earth A visitor to the planet would be instantly crushed without special
protection.

Venus has no moon.

Earth
Earth is the only planet known to have living things. Its atmosphere is composed mostly of
oxygen and nitrogen. The earths atmosphere protects it from the suns harmful rays. The
atmosphere also keeps heat as well as water from escaping into space. Earth is a rocky planet.

Characteristics:

is a little more than 12,000 kilometers in diameter

It rotates on its axis every 24 hours (a day) and revolves around the Sun every 365 days
(a year).

Beneath its surface lie solild iron and nickel surrounded by rocks.

Temperatures range from as high as 7,000 C to about 870 C.

Mars: The Red Planet

Mars, named for the Roman God of war was once thought to possess a highly organized
civilisation. Much of this came about when the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli thought
he observed canali on the Martian surface. In English, canali means "channels" but was
improperly translated to meaning "canals", which implied they might have been dug by
intelligent life. In America, Percival Lowell set up an observatory to study Mars. Lowell's
observations and his book, Mars and its Canals, written in 1906, fuelled the misconception that
"intelligent life" existed on Mars. It is now known that the canali or canals do not exist, but were
an effect of how the brain and eye work together. The Mariner space probes and Viking landers
found no evidence of life on Mars.
Characteristics:

Mars has a solid rocky surface rich in iron.This is what gives it a reddish colour. Among
its surface features are craters, extinct volcanoes, canyons and river-like features where water
may once have flowed.

Mars, like Earth goes through seasons that last about 6 months,(it's axis of rotation is
tilted by 24o to the plane of its orbit)

Mars has polar "ice" caps, like Earth, that expand and contract with the seasons; however,
they are composed of frozen carbon dioxide and water ice.

Mars has a thin atmosphere mostly composed of carbon dioxide gas (CO2), the
atmospheric pressure at the surface is 150 times less than Earth's.

Winds on Mars can exceed 300 km/hr. Because of this, Mars has planet-wide dust storms
that can shroud the planet for weeks at a time.


Mars has two small moons; Phobos (from the Greek, meaning fear) and Deimos (from
the Greek, meaning terror).

Jupiter
Jupiter, named for the King of the Roman Gods, is the fifth planet from the Sun and is by far the
largest planet in the Solar System. The first telescopic observations of Jupiter were made by
Galileo Galilei in the year 1610. With his small refracting telescope, Galileo discovered four of
Jupiters' moons: Io, Callisto, Europa and Ganymede -commonly known as the Galilean satellites.
Characteristics:

Jupiter has no solid surface. It is a gaseous planet composed mostly of hydrogen (85%)
and helium (15%) gas.

The visible surface of Jupiter is composed of clouds characterized by dark coloured belts
(of ammonium hydrosulfide) and lighter coloured zones (of ammonia ice crystals).

Jupiter generates more energy than it receives from the Sun. If Jupiter had been much
more massive, temperatures could have been high enough for the planet to become a star.

Jupiter has the largest storm in the Solar System called the Great Red Spot. This
atmospheric feature has been in existence ever since the first telescopes were trained on the
planet over 300 years ago. The Great Red Spot is in rotation and is so big that Earth would fit
inside about four to five times.

Jupiter has a ring discovered by a Voyager 1 photograph of the planet when it was backlit
by the Sun.

Jupiter has 16 known moons. The four largest are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Saturn
Saturn, named for the Roman God of the Harvest, was the farthest known planet from the Sun
until the discovery of Uranus in 1781. The second largest planet in the Solar System has an
intricate ring system.
Characteristics:

Saturn has no solid surface. It is a gaseous planet mostly composed of hydrogen and
helium gas.

Saturn's atmosphere has clouds that are banded (similar to Jupiter's but not as colourful).

Saturn generates more heat than it receives from the Sun.

Saturn has an extensive ring system. The rings have a thickness that varies from tens of
metres to about 1 km. The rings are made up of thousands of tiny ringlets mostly composed of
water ice and rock particles that range in size from grains of dust to objects kilometres across.

Saturn is less dense than water. As a result, it would float if we could find a big enough
ocean.

Saturn has 18 known moons. Titan is one of the most interesting because it is the only
moon to have an atmosphere.

Saturn's rotation period of 10 hrs. 40 min and the fact that it is a gaseous planet produces
flattening at the poles and at the equator, even more so than any of the other gaseous planets.

Uranus
Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781. The seventh planet from the Sun is
named after the Greek God, Ruler of the World. Uranus is so far from the Sun that it is almost 4
times the Sun-Jupiter distance. As a result, it takes about 84 "Earth years" to complete one orbit
around the Sun.
Characteristics:

Uranus has no solid surface. It is a gaseous planet composed of hydrogen and helium gas.

Current thought on the interior of Uranus holds that it may be made up of water, methane
and ammonia. Uranus may have a solid rocky core.

Uranus is the only giant planet to lack a "significant" internal heat source. Its rings are
composed of ice and rock particles that are darker than Saturn's and almost as black as charcoal.

Uranus' axis of rotation is tilted almost parallel (97) to the plane of its orbit.

It has 15 known moons (10 of them discovered by Voyager 2 in 1986), one of which is
the most perplexing in the whole Solar System. Miranda has a surface that shows evidence of
having been shattered and then reassembled more once.

Neptune
Neptune is named for the Roman God of the Sea. It is the first planet to be discovered by
mathematical prediction. It was known at the time that something was causing a perturbation in

the orbit of Uranus, quite possibly another planet. Independent calculations made by Urbain
Leverrier and John Cough Adams led to its discovery in 1846 by J.G. Galle at the Berlin
Observatory.
Characteristics:

Neptune has no solid surface. It is a gaseous planet, primarily composed of hydrogen and
helium gas, with traces of methane. Its colour is a bluish green. Neptune's interior may be similar
to that of Uranus.

Neptune possesses an internal heat source.

Neptune has a dynamic atmosphere. Cloud features and a giant storm system similar to
Jupiter's Great Red Spot were discovered by Voyager 2. Neptune's large storm system is called
the Great Dark Spot and is located in the planet's southern hemisphere.

Neptune has rings that are different from those found at Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. They
don't circle the planet completely, but are partial rings called "ring arcs".

Neptune has 8 known satellites; six of them were discovered by Voyager 2.