Through their observational evidence, and by using the newly invented telescope, they produced data and logic supporting a Sun-centered, heliocentric model of the Solar System. ![]() This geocentric view, backed by the very powerful religions at the time, endured for more than 1,400 years until it was toppled by Copernicus and confirmed by Galileo. You would see the Sun and stars revolve around the very spot where you were standing, the Earth - just as Ptolemy did some 1,900 years ago. ![]() To study the movements of heavens back then, you would look up into the sky. But how do we know that? What makes it so? These questions burned and plagued astronomers for millennia. It took billions of years for the Earth to form and settle into orbit around the Sun. After 10 to 100 million years of this banging, eight spherical, stable planets remained. Over millions of years, they gradually shaped themselves into solid planetesimals, and later protoplanets with their own unique orbits.Īstronomers call all this smashing and joining together accretion. Through a combination of gentle collisions and gravity these atoms and molecules began attracting other like-sized material. The tiny bit of heavier elements that remained made up the rockier Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. These eventually condensed to form the gassy outer giants - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The intense heat of the young Sun drove away most of the lighter hydrogen and helium elements - 99% of the leftovers - the furthest. Those chemically rich leftovers orbiting our young Sun were stewing with all the ingredients to form the planets in our Solar System. And some of this material clumped together, settling into a protoplanetary orbit. It drew in most of the surrounding matter, but some escaped. This fusion released what we call sunshine. A giant cloud of matter in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, condensed under its gravity, exploding in nuclear fusion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |