Origin of the Solar System: Early Theories

Galaxy is defined as gravitationally-bound system of stars, stellar

remnants, interstellar gas and dark matter.
Milky way is one of the billion galaxies in the observable universe.
The Observable universe refers to the region of the universe from
Earth’s vantage point.

*Descarte’s Vortex Theory – Rene Descartes (1596-1650) – French

Mathematician and physicist.
According to him the solar system was formed into bodies with
nearly circular orbits because of the whirlpool-like motion in the
pre-solar materials. The orbits of the planets are the primary
whirlpool motion and the satellites the secondary whirlpool motion.
*Buffon’s Collision Theory
-Goerge Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon ( 1707 – 1788) proposed
that the planets were formed by the collision of the sun with a giant
comet. The resulting debris formed into planets that rotate in the
same direction as they revolved around the sun.

*Kant-Laplace Nebular Theory

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and Pierre Laplace (1749-1827)
proposed the nebular theory which suggested that a great cloud of
gas and dust called nebula begins to collapse because of
gravitational pull. As the cloud contracted, it spun more rapidly.
The spinning cloud flattens into a pancake-shaped object with a
bulge at the center. As the nebula collapses further, local region
contract on their own due to gravity. These local regions became
the sun and the planets.
*Jeans-Jeffrey’s Tidal Theory
Sir James Hopwood (1877-1946), a British mathematician and
astrophysicist and Harold Jeffreys (1891-1989) suggested a dualistic
theory in which the sun and planets were produced by different
mechanism. That planets were formed from the substances that
was torn out of the sun. As a speeding massive star passed near the
sun, it pulled off material due to gravitational attraction.

*Solar Nebular Theory

Main concern is to solve the original problems of Kant and Laplace’s
nebular hypothesis about angular momentum of the sun.

The solar system was formed as a result of the condensation of

hydrogen gas and dust referred to as Interstellar gas and dust cloud.
An explosion of a star ( supernova) might have caused the dust and
gas cloud to collapse, forming the sun and planets.
Gas and dust collapses due to the force of gravity. The center
compressed enough to become a protostar, leaving the other
materials suspended around the center. As the cloud continues to
shrink it’s speed increases and becomes rapidly rotating disk. At the
core of protostar later it becomes the sun

Solar Nebulae – remaining gas and dust cloud form disk shaped
bodies

Two stages of the formation of the planets

1. Planetisimals – accretion of grain sized particles to form
centimeter sized particles which would later grow to several km in
diameter
2.Protoplanets – formation of more massive objects from coalescing
planetisimals and later become the planets
Activity # 4

1. What is the basic assumption of the following theories?

a. Descarte’s vortex theory

b. Buffon’s collision theory
c. Jeans-Jeffrey’s tidal theory
2. Compare and contrast Kant-Laplace’s nebular theory and solar
nebular theory
Solar System: Properties and current Information

Among observed regularities are:

1. The orbits of all planets are all almost in the same plane.
2. The planetary orbits are nearly circular.
3. The orbits of all planets are nearly in the same plane as the
rotation of the sun.
4. All planets revolve around the sun in counterclockwise direction.
5. The distances of the planets from the sun can be expressed in a
similar relationship called BODE’s law.
named after German astronomer Johan Bode (1747-1826)
6. The satellite system of Jupiter and Saturn are nearly identical
with their arrangement with the Solar System
7. The satellites and the planets contain almost all the rotational
motion of the Solar System
8. The Solar system also contains asteroids and comets.
Asteroids – are made up of rocks and sometimes referred to as
minor planets.
- tend to congregate in main asteroid belt which is located
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
- never formed as planets due to Jupiter’s high
gravitational force
Ceres – first known asteroid

Comets-are composed mainly of ice (frozen water and gas) and non
volatile dust (silicate mineral and carbon grains)

Kuiper belt – final frontier

Oort cloud – located farther than the kuiper belt, remained
unexplored
Announcement!!!

There will be a Quiz on

Study the Universe and the Solar System