What is the initial vast, rotating cloud of gas and dust in the solar system formation model called?
Answer
solar nebula
The genesis of the solar system, according to the dominant scientific model, begins with an immense, diffuse, rotating mass of interstellar material composed primarily of gas and dust. This structure is specifically termed the solar nebula. This nebula contained not only primordial elements but also heavier elements manufactured by previous stellar generations. The entire structure was held together by gravity while possessing a slight initial spin, setting the stage for the subsequent gravitational collapse that would lead to the formation of the Sun and the planetary bodies within the resulting disk.
Related Questions
What is the initial vast, rotating cloud of gas and dust in the solar system formation model called?Which thinker formalized a description of a cooling, rotating nebula shedding rings to form planets in the late 18th century?What provided the heavier elements like silicon, iron, oxygen, and carbon found in the solar nebula?What modern interpretation often suggests the trigger for the gravitational collapse of the nebula is?What physical principle dictates that the nebula spins faster as its radius shrinks during contraction?What is the resulting thin, pancake-shaped structure rotating around the hot core called?What process ignites at the core when sufficient temperature and pressure are reached, turning a protostar into a star?In the inner, hotter region of the protoplanetary disk, which materials primarily condense into solid particles?What crucial boundary determines where ices can remain solid, dividing terrestrial and Jovian planet formation zones?What are the kilometer-sized bodies formed by colliding dust grains called before they become protoplanets?What complex mechanism is proposed to explain how the Sun retained only 1% of the system's total angular momentum?What process, observed in exoplanet systems, suggests large planets may not have formed in their current orbital positions?