Ideas concerning the origin and fate of the world date from the earliest known writings; however, for almost all of that time, there was no attempt to link such theories to the existence of a "Solar System", simply … See more

The planets were originally thought to have formed in or near their current orbits. This has been questioned during the last 20 years. Currently, … See more

Astronomers estimate that the current state of the Solar System will not change drastically until the Sun has fused almost all the hydrogen fuel … See more

The time frame of the Solar System's formation has been determined using radiometric dating. Scientists estimate that the Solar System is 4.6 billion years old. The oldest known mineral grains on Earth are approximately 4.4 billion years old. Rocks this old are … See more

Presolar nebula
The nebular hypothesis says that the Solar System formed from the gravitational collapse of a fragment of a giant molecular cloud, most likely at the edge of a Wolf-Rayet bubble. The cloud was about 20 parsecs (65 … See more

Moons have come to exist around most planets and many other Solar System bodies. These natural satellites originated by one of three possible mechanisms:
• Co-formation from a circumplanetary disc (only in the cases of the giant planets);
• Formation from … See more

The Solar System travels alone through the Milky Way in a circular orbit approximately 30,000 light years from the Galactic Center. Its speed is about 220 km/s. The period required for the Solar System to complete one revolution around the Galactic Center, … See more