How did the Solar System form? This lecture examines the clues in the
present-day dynamics (orbital and rotation motions) of the planets and
planetary composition to the formation of the solar system. We will
then describe the accretion model, where grains condense out of the
primordial solar nebula, grains aggregate by collisions into
planetesimals, then gravity begins to work and planetesimals grow into
protoplanets. What kind of planet grows depends on where the
protoplanets are in the primordial solar nebula: close to the Sun only
rocky planets form, beyond the Frost Line ices and volatiles can
condense out, allowing the growth of the gas giants. The whole process
took about 100 million years, and we as we explore the solar system we
will look for traces of this process on the various worlds we visit.
Recorded 2006 Nov 7 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The
Ohio State University.