The solar system as we know it began life as a vast, swirling cloud of gas and dust, twisting through the universe without direction or form. About 4.6 billion years ago, this gigantic cloud …

Most of the collapsing mass collected in the center, forming the Sun, while the rest flattened into a protoplanetary disk out of which the planets, moons, asteroids, and other small Solar System …

Dec 17, 2025 · We currently think that our solar system formed from a large nebula, perhaps after the explosion of a nearby star. Some big stars can explode, something called a supernova, …

Dec 20, 2020 · The formation of the solar system is a challenging puzzle for modern astronomy and a terrific tale of extreme forces operating over immense timescales. Let's dig in.

Dec 7, 2025 · In 1734 Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg proposed a model for the solar system’s origin in which a shell of material around the Sun broke into small pieces that formed …

Jul 1, 2019 · From the radiometric dating of rocks, which measures the known decay rates of radioactive elements, we know Earth and the solar system are approximately 4.6 billion years old.

Dec 16, 2025 · Planet formation explained through how planets form in a protoplanetary disk, revealing the science behind solar system formation and planetary diversity.

The Sun and the planets formed together, 4.6 billion years ago, from a cloud of gas and dust called the solar nebula. A shock wave from a nearby supernova explosion probably initiated …

Nov 16, 2023 · How did the planets and moons in our solar system form? How do we know they involve collisions called ‘giant impacts’? Read on to find out more about how planets form …

A viable theory of solar system formation must take into account motion constraints, chemical constraints, and age constraints. Meteorites, comets, and asteroids are survivors of the solar …