Evolution of the Solar System (VIDEO)

Southwest Research Institute

Caption

The animation simulates the first 1.2 billion years of solar system history. The orbits of the 4 giant planets are shown as color ellipses. The green dots show small comet-like objects. A small fraction of these objects become trapped in the asteroid belt when the orbits of the planets become unstable. In the simulation shown, this instability occurs at 880 million years.

Credit

Southwest Research Institute

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This animation may be used by the public and the media for educational and informational purposes only.

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