Question

How did planets and other objects in the solar system form?

• A. After the Sun formed, it threw off hot pieces that spun and cooled.
• B. The Sun captured objects that formed in other places in the galaxy.
• C. Two stars collided, and the broken pieces went into orbit around the Sun.
• D. Material in a disc formed large clumps as the Sun fanned in the centre of the disc.

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

Material in a disc formed large clumps as the Sun fanned in the centre of the disc.

The planets in our solar system are believed to have formed from the same spinning disc of dust that formed the Sun. This disc, called the solar nebula, was composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, but also had other elements in smaller proportions. The nebula had a certain amount of angular momentum orbiting the forming Sun. Particles in the spinning disc began to clump together as gravity attracted them to each other.