Astronomy › Section G · The solar system and Earth › Topic G.4
Origin of the solar system
Nobody watched the solar system form, yet its planets still carry clear fingerprints of their birth. Reading those patterns, and comparing them with young stars forming planets today, gives a well-tested picture of where our planetary system came from.
In this topic
- Reading the clues
- Pattern one: everything turns the same way
- Worked example: spinning up a collapsing cloud
- Pattern two: rock inside, gas and ice outside
- Why the inner disc was hot
- Worked example: where could ice survive?
- The evidence from young stars
- Building planets
- A violent youth explains the exceptions
- Other planetary systems
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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