Formation and evolution of the Solar System | new chapter begin
Formation and evolution of the Solar System Jump to navigation Jump to search Artist's conception of a protoplanetary disk The formation and evolution of the Solar System began 4.6 billion years ago with the gravitational collapse of a small part of a giant molecular cloud . [1] 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 bodies formed. This model, known as the nebular hypothesis was first developed in the 18th century by Emanuel Swedenborg , Immanuel Kant , and Pierre-Simon Laplace . Its subsequent development has interwoven a variety of scientific disciplines including astronomy , physics , geology , and planetary science . Since the dawn of the space age ...