Chapter 20: The Solar System
Journey to the Birth of the Solar System (use Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Opera for 360˚ viewing)
If our sun were the size of a basketball, how big would Planet Earth be? How far away would Earth be on this scale of things? How far away would Pluto be? And why isn't Pluto counted as a planet these days?
Models of the migration of the planets in the early solar system:
This video of the Nice Model shows how the orbits of the outer gaseous planets of our solar system might have evolved. It also explains why and how the late heavy bombardement might have taken place.
Note that in the first model shown in the film, Neptune's orbit is smaller than Uranus's orbit to begin with. The film is slowed down in places to make the changes more obvious for the viewer.
Credit: Hal Levison, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado
Customized for Sky and Telescope by Shweta Krishnan
Note that in the first model shown in the film, Neptune's orbit is smaller than Uranus's orbit to begin with. The film is slowed down in places to make the changes more obvious for the viewer.
Credit: Hal Levison, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado
Customized for Sky and Telescope by Shweta Krishnan