Solar System Formation

Do the planets and moons in our solar system tend to orbit and rotate in the same plane? If so,
what would be the cause of such uniformity? Why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same
direction?
- question from Andy Johns & Tom

Yes, the planets and most other large bodies of the solar system do orbit the Sun in about the
same plane. This plane that contains the orbits of most of the planets, moons, and asteroids is called
the ecliptic plane. When viewed from overhead, the planets also rotate about the Sun in the same
counter-clockwise direction. Most moons also rotate around their parent planets in this same
direction. The reason for these behaviors relates to how the solar system was formed some 4.6 billion
years ago. Bear in mind that the explanation we are about to discuss is only a theory that appears to
explain the structure of the solar system as scientists currently understand it. As astronomers learn
more about our own solar system as well as the planets orbiting other stars in the galaxy, it is very
possible that this theory may change and evolve.

Planets of the solar system (not to scale)

 The leading hypothesis to explain how the solar system formed is called the condensation
theory, which is based on a related explanation called the nebular theory. A nebula is a large cloud of
gas and dust that exists in the depths of interstellar space. These clouds typically form during the
death of a giant star when it goes supernova. This mighty explosion sends most of the star's mass
outward into space as a massive wave of debris. The nebular cloud from which our solar system
formed may have accumulated from one or more stars that went supernova billions of years ago.
Astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories to discover similar
nebular clouds where new stars and possibly planets appear to be in the process of being created.

Stars forming in small protrusions from the Eagle Nebula

Astronomers estimate that the nebular cloud from which our solar system formed contained
about two to three times the mass of the Sun and was about 100 astronomical units (AU) across. An
astronomical unit is defined as the average distance between the Sun and Earth, or about 93 million
miles (150 million km). This massive loosely-bound cloud of dust, ice particles, and gases (primarily
hydrogen and helium) had some small rate of rotation due to the method in which it was formed.
Over time, this nebular cloud began to collapse inward. The collapse may have itself been triggered
by a supernova that sent shockwaves through the cloud causing it to compress. As the cloud
compressed on itself, the gravitational attraction of the matter within increased and pulled the

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material in even further. The nebula continued to contract under the influence of gravity causing it to
spin faster. The more the cloud contracted, the faster it rotated due to the conservation of angular
momentum. The rate of contraction was greatest near the center of the cloud where a dense central
core began to form. As the rate of rotation of the nebula continued to increase, centrifugal effects
caused the spinning cloud to flatten into a disk with a bulge at its center.

Contracting nebular cloud increasing its rate of rotation

The middle of this spinning disk further condensed to eventually form the Sun at the center of
the solar system. The material spinning around this new star also condensed into several large chunks
of material called planetoids. As these planetoids collided, they coallesced into larger bodies to form
the planets that exist today. Because the Sun and planets all formed from the same nebular cloud,
they all rotate in the same direction that was induced on the disk of material as it coallesced. Not
only do the planets all rotate counter-clockwise around the Sun, but the Sun and nearly all the planets
rotate counter-clockwise about their axes. The solar equator and the plane containing the orbits of the
planets are also nearly identical, further supporting the formation theory described above.

Spinning cloud flattening into a disk and condensing into a star and planets

Only a few exceptions to this explanation can be found in the solar system. The planet Venus
actually rotates clockwise around its axis in what is called a retrograde motion. Uranus is also in an
unusual orientation since the world is tilted on its side with its north and south poles in about the
same plane as the planet's orbit around the Sun. Tiny Pluto is also tilted on its side and is the only
planet with an orbit considerably outside of the ecliptic plane. While the reasons for these
eccentricities are unknown, it is believed that large collisions with other large bodies during the
formation of the solar system may account for the unusual characteristics of these planets.
- answer by Jeff Scott, 16 October 2005

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15:44
 Pembentukan tata surya

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Apakah planet dan bulan di tata surya kita cenderung orbit dan memutar di pesawat yang sama? Jika
demikian, apa yang akan menjadi penyebab penyeragaman? Mengapa semua planet orbit matahari dalam
arah yang sama?

Ya, planet-planet dan sebagian besar badan-badan tata surya mengorbit matahari di tentang
pesawat yang sama. Pesawat ini yang mengandung orbit planet, bulan, dan asteroid disebut pesawat
ekliptika. Bila dilihat dari overhead, planet-planet juga memutar tentang matahari dalam arah berlawanan
arah jarum jam yang sama. Bulan-bulan yang kebanyakan juga memutar di sekitar planet orangtua mereka
dalam arah yang sama. Alasan untuk perilaku ini berhubungan dengan bagaimana tata surya dibentuk
beberapa 4,6 miliar tahun yang lalu. Ingatlah bahwa penjelasan kita akan membahas adalah hanya sebuah
teori yang muncul untuk menjelaskan struktur tata surya sebagai ilmuwan sedang memahaminya. Seperti
para astronom mempelajari lebih lanjut tentang tata surya kita sendiri serta planet-planet yang mengorbit
bintang lain di galaksi, itu sangat mungkin bahwa teori ini dapat berubah dan berkembang.

Hipotesis terkemuka untuk menjelaskan bagaimana tata surya terbentuk disebut teori kondensasi,
yang didasarkan pada penjelasan terkait yang disebut nebular. Nebula adalah awan besar gas dan debu yang
ada di kedalaman ruang antarbintang. Awan ini biasanya membentuk selama kematian bintang raksasa
ketika pergi supernova. Ledakan perkasa ini mengirimkan sebagian besar massa bintang luar ke ruang
angkasa sebagai gelombang besar puing-puing. Awan nebular yang membentuk tata surya kita telah
mengumpulkan dari satu atau lebih bintang yang pergi supernova miliaran tahun yang lalu. Para astronom
telah menggunakan teleskop ruang angkasa Hubble dan Observatorium lain untuk menemukan serupa awan
nebular yang mana bintang baru dan mungkin planet tampaknya berada dalam proses yang diciptakan.

Para astronom memperkirakan bahwa awan nebular yang membentuk tata surya kita terdapat
sekitar dua sampai tiga kali massa matahari dan sekitar 100 unit astronomi (AU) di seluruh. Unit astronomi
didefinisikan sebagai rata-rata jarak antara matahari dan bumi, atau sekitar 93 juta mil (150 juta km). Ini
besar-besaran longgar-terikat awan debu, es partikel dan gas (terutama hidrogen dan helium) memiliki
beberapa tingkat kecil rotasi karena metode yang dibentuk. Seiring waktu, awan nebular ini mulai runtuh ke
dalam. Runtuhnya mungkin itu sendiri telah dipicu oleh supernova yang mengirim shockwaves melalui awan
menyebabkan itu untuk kompres. Sebagai awan dikompresi pada dirinya sendiri, daya tarik gravitasi masalah
dalam meningkatkan dan ditarik materi lebih jauh. Nebula terus kontrak di bawah pengaruh gravitasi
menyebabkan itu untuk berputar lebih cepat. Semakin awan dikontrak, semakin cepat diputar karena
konservasi momentum sudut. Tingkat kontraksi adalah terbesar dekat pusat awan mana inti pusat yang
padat mulai bentuk. Seperti tingkat rotasi nebula terus meningkat, efek sentrifugal disebabkan awan
berputar untuk meratakan ke dalam sebuah disk dengan tonjolan di pusatnya.

Hanya beberapa pengecualian untuk penjelasan ini dapat ditemukan di tata surya. Planet Venus
benar-benar berputar searah jarum jam di sekitar sumbu dalam apa yang disebut gerakan mundur. Uranus
juga dalam orientasi yang tidak biasa karena dunia miring pada sisi utara dan Selatan kutub di tentang
pesawat yang sama sebagai planet orbit Pluto kecil Sun. juga miring pada sisi dan satu-satunya planet
dengan orbit jauh di luar pesawat ekliptika. Sementara alasan ini eksentrik tidak diketahui, hal ini diyakini
bahwa besar tabrakan dengan badan-badan besar lainnya selama pembentukan tata surya mungkin
menjelaskan karakteristik tidak biasa dari planet ini.