solar nebula
Sun-forming gas cloud
The solar nebula is the rotating cloud of gas and dust from which our solar system formed roughly 4.6 billion years ago.
As gravity caused the nebula to collapse, most material concentrated at the center to form the Sun, while the remaining disk coalesced into planets, moons, and other bodies.
The term appears in discussions of planetary formation and the origins of Earth: Models of the solar nebula help explain why inner planets are rocky while outer planets are gaseous.
Growth through external addition
- gravitational collapseInward fall from gravity
- angular momentumRotational motion quantity
- protostarPre-fusion celestial body
- stellar nurseryGas cloud birthing suns
Growth through external addition
- planetesimalPrimordial orbiting rock
- protoplanetEarly-stage forming planet
- asteroid beltPlanetary rubble orbit zone
- cometsIcy bodies orbiting stars
meteorites · chondrites · differentiation · runaway growth · Kuiper belt · Oort cloud · terrestrial planets · gas giants
Simplest atomic element
- heliumLightest noble gas
- silicatesSilicon-oxygen bonded minerals
- cosmic dustMicroscopic particles pervading space
- grainsSmall hard seeds
presolar grains · isotopes · olivine · pyroxene · iron-nickel · volatiles · snow line · stardust
accretion
Growth through external addition
- gravitational collapseInward fall from gravity
- angular momentumRotational motion quantity
- protostarPre-fusion celestial body
stellar nursery · turbulence · conservation of momentum · Laplace · Kant
accretion
Growth through external addition
- planetesimalPrimordial orbiting rock
- protoplanetEarly-stage forming planet
- asteroid beltPlanetary rubble orbit zone
comets · meteorites · chondrites · differentiation · runaway growth · Kuiper belt · Oort cloud · terrestrial planets · gas giants · ice giants
hydrogen
Simplest atomic element
- heliumLightest noble gas
- silicatesSilicon-oxygen bonded minerals
- cosmic dustMicroscopic particles pervading space
grains · presolar grains · isotopes · olivine · pyroxene · iron-nickel · volatiles · snow line · stardust · graphite
solar nebulaplanetary system
Star and its satellites
planetary nebula · supernova remnant · neutron star · black hole · white dwarf
solar nebulaplanet
Star-orbiting spherical body
star · solid body · rocky planet · terrestrial planet · asteroid