By: Megan Mauch

•Formed about 5 billion years ago•Created in an enormous cloud of dust and gas (nebula)•Stellar dust and gas formed together•Dense parts of the gas cloud goes into a gravitational collapse and compresses into a rotating globe of gas

•Sun and other stars were formed in a nebula•Formed mainly out of hydrogen gas in the nebula•Cloud of stars and gas are in a abundant in spiral galaxies such as our own•Sun was created with nuclear fusion, hydrogen, helium, and energy•Sun contains about 98% of our solar system’s mass

•Solar nebula collapses over its own gravity possible caused by a shock wave•When it collapses, it heats up and compresses in the center enough for the dust to vaporize•Compresses and the gas orbits around it•Dust particles collide with each other creating larger particles•As the particles get big enough, their growth accelerates•Nebula would create a very strong wind which would sweep away any excess gas•The solar system would be composed of solid bodies and gas giants which would collide with other solids to become even larger

•Eventually after millions of years, planets will begin to form which will begin to orbit

•Four closest planets to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars•Inner and outer planets are separated by the asteroid belt•Inner planets are called terrestrial planets because of their solid surface

•Referred to as gas giants or Jovian planets•No solid surfaces•Much larger than the inner planets•All of the outer planets have rings•Outer planets and inner planets are separated by the asteroid belt

In about 1.1 billion years, the sun will be 10% brighter which will cause the greenhouse effect and dry out the water on the earth and evaporate into space with no return

In about 3.5 billion years from now, the Sun will be 40% brighter than it is today. It will be so hot that the oceans will boil and the water vapor lost to space. The ice caps will permanently melt, and snow will be ancient history. Eventually temperatures will get so hot that life will be unable to survive on the surface of the earth.

In about 6 billion years, the Sun’s core will run out of hydrogen. And the inert helium built up in the core will become unstable and collapse under its own weight. This will cause the core to heat up and get denser. The Sun will grow in size and enter the red giant phase. The expanding Sun will consume the orbits of inner planets, and probably consume the Earth as well.

The Sun will burn helium in its core, creating carbon and oxygen for about 100 million years until this source of fuel runs out. Finally, the of helium becomes unstable causing the Sun to pulse. It will blow off a large fraction of its atmosphere into space.Without its atmosphere, the final Sun will be the carbon-oxygen core created when it was burning helium. It will become a white dwarf

similar in the size of the earth. Without fusion, the Sun will slowly cool down over trillions of years, eventually becoming the same. The

Sun’s future will be cold and dark.