You might think that stuff in outerspace just kind of floats around and moves to its own beat. The truth is, though, that the universe is highly organized, beginning with Earth's immediate neighborhood, the solar system.
Watch this animation to find out more about the structure of the solar system. Then answer the questions in the Take Notes box below.
Before you begin viewing, you might want to check definitions of some glossary terms. In addition to "solar system," gravity, mass, terrestial planets and gas giant planets will be used.
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Beyond making things go round, gravity– the invisible force that attracts mass to mass– had a starring role in the origin story of our solar system.
Back at the birth of our solar system, gravity formed our sun by condensing gas & dust (ie. mass) into a central location. That star grew in mass, which increased the gravity, which attracted more mass, until it became the sun we know today.
Meanwhile, in the outer regions, gas & dust formed into a spinning disk. Within this disk, debris accumulated (yes, due to gravity) and formed the planets. Born from the same spinning disk, all of the planets revolve in the same direction and on the same plane.
What the planets are made of is also due to gravity. Our mass greedy sun sucked up most of the gas and matter around it. This allowed formation of smaller, heat tolerant, dense (ie. terrestrial) planets closer in, while in the cooler regions, gas & ice formed the outer planets (ie. gas giants).
So as we approach our 4.571 billionth birthday, we can celebrate gravity- our founding force- and all it’s done to make our solar system go round.
Answer these two questions in the note box, below.