The solar nebula was a disc-shaped cloud of gas and dust surrounding the newly-formed Sun approximately 4. 6 billion years ago. The composition of the nebula was mostly hydrogen (about 74%) and helium (about 24%), along with small amounts of other elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur.
The dust within the nebula consisted of silicate particles of much higher densities than the hydrogen and helium that made up the majority of the nebula. Over time, the particles within the nebula began to coalesce due to gravity and form what we now know as the planets in our solar system.
The compositions of the planets were determined by the composition of the material within the solar nebula from which they were formed. The inner planets, such as Mercury and Venus, were made mostly of metals, while the outer planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn, were made mostly of gases such as hydrogen and helium.
Which ingredients made up 98% of the solar nebula?
The solar nebula was made up of 98% hydrogen and helium, with the remaining 2% composed of heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. Hydrogen and helium are the two lightest and most abundant elements in the universe, making up the bulk of the solar nebula.
As the solar nebula cooled, these elements combined to form molecules such as water, methane, and ammonia. Over time, these molecules formed into dust particles and eventually clumped together to form larger particles, such as pebbles, rocks, and eventually planets.
All of the elements and molecules that make up the solar system, including the planets, our Moon, asteroids, comets, and dust, are thought to have originated in the solar nebula.
Is Jupiter Ice rock or gas?
Jupiter is a gas giant, meaning it is made primarily of gaseous material and has no solid form. Its composition consists of mostly hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of methane, water vapor, ammonia, and other compounds.
Its interior is composed of an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium surrounding a core of rock and ice. While the planet is mostly gas, the core is made of rocky material and ice, with elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.
The ratio and type of substances making up the core vary greatly, as Jupiter’s interaction with the solar wind pushes material in and out of the core.
Where is the center of Earth?
The center of Earth is located approximately 3,958 miles (6,371 kilometers) beneath the surface of the planet. At the center lies the Earth’s core, which consists primarily of a solid iron/nickel alloy that is approximately 2,240 to 2,440 miles (3,620 to 3,915 kilometers) thick.
Below the core lies the Earth’s mantle, which starts at a depth of 1,802 miles (2,900 kilometers) and reaches all the way down to the core. This hot, dense material is made up of rocks and minerals and is the layer that most of the Earth’s volcanic activity occurs in.
Is the mantle solid or liquid?
The mantle is largely solid, but slightly viscous. It is composed of minerals that are more dense than the material above it, and as a result, is much more rigid and stronger than the Earth’s crust. The mantle is largely solid, but can be soft enough to flow slowly on geologic timescales.
While its composition is much like a solid, the mantle rocks are so hot and under such great pressure, they can flow like a very thick liquid. This is known as “plastic deformation” and is responsible for continental drift and other large scale motion in the Earth’s geology.
How thick is the Earth?
The Earth’s average thickness is about 12,742 kilometers (7,918 miles). It is made up of several layers, including the crust (the outermost layer), the mantle, and the core. The crust is the thinnest layer and ranges from 6 to 70 kilometers (4 to 44 miles) in thickness.
The mantle, which is the layer of the Earth between the core and the crust, is approximately 2885 kilometers (1,800 miles) thick and is made up of semi-solid rocks that flow slowly over time. The core is the innermost layer of the Earth and is composed of a solid inner core, which is composed of iron and nickel, and a liquid outer core.
The solid inner core is estimated to be as thick as 2210 kilometers (1,370 miles), while the liquid outer core is estimated to be at least 2,266 kilometers (1,410 miles) thick.
How deep is the earths crust?
The Earth’s crust is not of uniform thickness. The thickness of the crust varies from 3-45km. Generally, the continental crust is around 30km thick, and the oceanic crust is generally around 5-7km thick.
The crust is composed of two primary types of rocks: basaltic and granitic. On average the crust is approximately 33km thick. The oceanic crust is much thinner than the continental crust.
The crust is the outermost layer of the Earth, and it is the thinnest layer, measuring between 3-45km thick. It is made up of large pieces of rock, and is divided into various tectonic plates. The Lithosphere is the rock layer that consists of the crust and the upper mantle and is the rigid outermost shell of the earth.
The actual depth of the Earth’s crust can depend on where you are measuring from. The crust beneath the oceans is thinner than under the continents. The thickness of the Earth’s crust is usually measured in kilometers, but sometimes it can be measured in miles.
At the mid-ocean ridges, the depth of the crust can be as shallow as 3km, with the sea floor increasing in depth and thickness away from the ridge. The entire seafloor, including the continental margins, is estimated to average 6-7km in thickness.
Under the continents, the average thickness of the crust is 35-40km, while the basement rocks, or the deepest parts of the continents may be as much as 60-70km deep.
What happens when a nebula begins to contract?
When a nebula begins to contract, the particles of gas and dust within the nebula start to clump together due to the gravitational pull of the material. As the nebula continues to contract, these emissions become denser and increasingly hotter, eventually forming a protostar.
A protostar is a star in the earliest stages of development, and its gravitationally-bound core starts to heat up and collapse further. Hydrogen begins to fuse and pressure builds. Eventually, the protostar will become hot enough for helium to start fusing, creating a T-Tauri star, the pre-main sequence star that all stars must pass through, including our Sun.
If the star is massive enough, once helium begins to fuse, nuclear fusion will continue, creating a full-fledged main sequence star.
What causes a solar nebula to initially from a solar system?
A solar nebula is a large, rotating cloud of gas and dust that serves as the birthplace of a solar system. As this dense cloud begins to condense and rotate, it forms disks and clumps that eventually become the planets, asteroids, comets, and other small bodies of a new solar system.
It is believed to form due to a combination of gravity and temperature gradients within the cloud. As gravity pulls the interstellar dust and gas inward, heat from the star at the center of the nebula causes the cloud to spin faster, thus flattening out into a disk-like structure.
As the nebula continues to collapse and divide, clumps of material begin to develop in the disk which further condense, eventually leading to the formation of planets and other objects in the new solar system.
What force causes a nebula to contract upon itself and form a star?
The force that causes a nebula to contract upon itself and form a star is gravity. Initially, the gas inside a nebula is held together by the strength of its own gravity, as well as some additional pressure from the radiation and winds behind star formation.
Over time, the pressure of the nebula’s internal gravity increases until it becomes greater than the outward forces generated by the radiation and winds. This pressure causes the cloud of gas to collapse in on itself and form a star.
As the nebula collapses, its gravity grows stronger, compressing the cloud of gas into an even tighter space, resulting in larger temperatures and densities. This increased temperature and pressure is what triggers the formation of a star from the nebula.
Which begins as nebula contracts?
A nebula is typically composed of dust and gas that is spread out through interstellar space. As these gases interact, they begin to contract together. This contraction begins because nearby particles of dust and gas are attracted to each other by gravity.
As the particles move closer together, their temperatures and pressures increase. Eventually, this will lead to the collapse of the nebula, and the formation of a protostar—a new star that has just begun to come into existence.
The overall contraction of the nebula occurs very slowly, sometimes taking millions of years to finish. This can be compared to a beach ball deflating over the course of many hours. As the particles contract together, they form distinct clumps and the star-forming regions, known as molecular clouds, become visible.
The gravitational contraction of the materials continues until a star reaches balance between the inward-pulling force of gravity, and the outward-pushing force of radiative pressure, generated by the star itself.
At this point, a protostar is born and the nebular contraction essentially ends.
Why do nebulas contract into stars?
Nebulas are clouds of dust, gas and other particles that are located in outer space. These clouds are so large and dense that they can be seen from Earth even without telescopic aid. As nebulas grow in size, they can reach a point where the pressure and temperature increase to the point that it causes the nebula’s dust and gas particles to start collapsing.
This process is thought to be caused by gravity, as the particles start to attract each other. As they move closer together they form a protostar, which is the earliest stage of a star. The process of contraction can take millions or even billions of years, depending on the mass of the material in the nebula.
But eventually, if enough material is available, the protostar will continue to form until it becomes an official star.
How was the first nebula formed?
The formation of the first nebula is believed to have occurred during the period of the Big Bang some 13. 8 billion years ago. This period of time is known as the “Dark Ages” as the universe was filled with a hot, dark and mysterious substance that was believed to be composed of hydrogen and helium gases.
The force of gravity caused these gases to condense into clouds, clouds of atoms and molecules hovering together in the same space. Over time, the collapse of the clouds created pockets of higher density, continuing to fall in on themselves until the inner pressure of the gravity was great enough to begin the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium, and thus, ignite the first stars.
As the star heated up, photons began to pressure the surrounding cloud, causing it to disperse, cool, and form the first nebula. This nebula, in turn, is believed to have served as the foundation for the formation of new stars, galaxies, and eventually, our universe as we know it today.
What caused a nebula to start spinning?
Nebulae are made of clouds of gas and dust, which are generally believed to have been formed from the remnants of supernova explosions. In the aftermath of a supernova, the force of the explosion will cause the clouds to spin as they expand outwards.
This is because the force of the explosion is not equal in all directions. As the shockwave of the explosion moves outward, the clouds are pushed away in whatever direction they were initially pointing in, while the matter behind them is pushed in the same direction.
This causes an initial rotation of the clouds, which can then be further amplified by the imbalance of forces around them, such as the pull of gravity from other stars and galaxies. Additionally, as the clouds spread out, they often interact with each other, merging and merging again, and the momentum of their rotation further increases over time.
This is why most nebulae are found to be spinning rapidly.
What is the first step in nebula theory?
The first step in the nebular theory is understanding the composition of the interstellar medium. The interstellar medium consists of about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium, with the remainder composed of trace amounts of other elements, such as oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and iron.
The interstellar medium is composed of gas, dust, and radiation, and can take different kinds of forms, such as molecular clouds, dust clouds, or regions of ionized gas. Large clouds of gas and dust can form in interstellar space due to the gravitational attraction of nearby stars and/or dark matter.
These clouds become denser over time as the gravitational forces condense the more massive particles in the cloud, which can then come together to form stars.
Once stars and planets form, matter begins to condense further, and interstellar gas and dust begin to form a disk-shaped, rotating structure known as the proto-planetary disk. Matter in the disk is then pulled together by gravity, which creates a dense central core inside the rotating disk that eventually gives rise to a new star, with rings of planet-forming material spinning around it.
This is the first step in the nebular theory, which is the process where stars and planets form out of the interstellar medium.