(Solved): The telescope image above shows a protostar and accretion disc in the process of formi ...
The telescope image above shows a ‘protostar’ and ‘accretion disc’ in the process of forming, just like our own Solar System did about 4.5 billion years ago. Before the birth of our solar system, a nebula (an immense cloud of gas and dust, containing many different chemical elements), was lying in empty space. This nebula then formed into a ‘protostar’ with an ‘accretion disc’, and these went on to form a stable star with planets and other bodies.
a. Describe the physical processes involved in forming the ‘protostar’ and ‘accretion disc’
b. Which kind of materials formed the protostar?
c. Which kind of materials formed the four inner planets?
d. Which kind of materials formed the four large outer planets?
e. Explain the processes and the chemical elements that are involved in producing energy in a stable star
f. Explain what processes are balanced in a stable star
Expert Answer
a. Gravitational collapse is the term for the physical process that results in the formation of a protostar and an accretion disc. The gas and dust pa