AST-1002 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Small Solar System Body, Terrestrial Planet, Nice Model
Document Summary
Solar system- the sun and everything that orbits it including planets, their moons, dwarf planets, and small solar system bodies. Metals - in astronomy, all elements except hydrogen and helium. Jeans instability - the condition under which gravitational forces overcome therma forces to cause part of an interstellar cloud to collapse and form stars and planets. Dense core- any of the regions of interstellar gas clouds that are slightly denser than normal and destined to collapse to form one or a few stars. Solar nebula- the cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and the rest of the solar system formed. Nice model- a theory that describes the formation of the planets and other objects orbiting the sun, then jupiter and the other giant planets forming first, followed by the inner planets, asteroid belt, kuiper belt, and oort comet cloud. Protosun - the sun prior to the time when hydrogen fusion began in its core.
