The Sun, the Solar System, and Nebular Gas Clouds

The launch of space-based telescopes has allowed scientists to understand more about the universe than ever before. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1986, marked a revolution in modern astronomy. Objects viewed from Earth through traditional telescopes appear very different when viewed from space. A nebula is a cloudy region of gas and dust. A nebula is often named for its shape. The Eskimo nebula, for example, looks like a face surrounded by a fur hood when viewed from Earths surface. The Hubble Space Telescope, however, captured much clearer images of the nebula. These images show that the Eskimo nebula does not look much like a face at all.

The Eskimo nebula resembles a face surrounded by a fur hood.

The new understanding of nebulae provided by the Hubble Space Telescope is important to cosmology. Cosmology is the study of the universe and its formation. Cosmologists want to know how solar systems, stars, and galaxies form. One theory on the formation of our solar system is the Nebular Gas Theory. Many cosmologists believe this theory explains how all stars and solar systems form. The Nebular Gas Theory has several basic premises. First, the theory states that stars form when gas and dust particles gather inside a nebula. Gravitational attraction pulls particles closer together. When particles are close enough, nuclear fusion begins. During nuclear fusion, hydrogen particles combine to form heavier elements. Heat and light are released and a star is born.

The Hubble Space Telescope studies distant nebulae and other objects in space.

Imagine you are in a crowd of people trying to see a performer. The people are drawn toward a central point. If you are standing in the center of the crowd, you will begin to feel warmer as more people crowd together. If many people are pushing toward the center, those in the middle of the group will begin to feel quite crowded.

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The Sun, the Solar System, and Nebular Gas Clouds

In a nebula, gravity draws particles together. As more and more particles converge, temperature and pressure increase. Under these extreme conditions, atomic nuclei realign in the particles and nuclear fusion begins. Next, the Nebular Gas Theory explains that objects in the nebula continue to move around the collected central mass. Over time, this spinning motion draws the objects into the same area in their orbital paths. These orbiting objects gain mass as they draw more particles of gas and dust to them, as well. This explains why the planets in our solar system are located in a flat orbital plane around the sun.

A crowd of people gathering toward a central region is similar to the way particles of gas and dust gather in a nebula.

Once a star is born, nuclear fusion continues as long as the star contains particles to fuel the process. Stars eventually die, however, when the gases inside them are depleted. The star will eventually expand and explode. The remaining gas and dust from the star are scattered into space. Later, this material may form another nebula where different stars can form over billions of years. This process creates a universal recycling center! The gas and dust in space are constantly reused. Billions of years from now, when Earths Sun dies, the particles that make up Earth and the other planets and moons may become parts of entirely new solar systems!

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