It shows what our solar system may have looked like over 4 billion years ago, during its earliest and most chaotic stages. A young Sun shines brightly at the center, surrounded by a swirling protoplanetary disk of gas, dust, and rock fragments. Countless asteroids, comets, and planetesimals crash into one another, gradually merging into larger bodies that will become planets and moons. Closer to the Sun, only rocky material can withstand the heat, while farther away, icy and gaseous material accumulates to form giant planets. This era was one of intense collisions, rapid growth, and constant change—a cosmic construction zone where the building blocks of our modern solar system were forged.
ScienceAndDiscovery