The first step toward a theory of Solar System formation and evolution was the general acceptance of heliocentrism, which placed the Sun at the centre of the system and the Earth in orbit around it.
The current approach to the origin of the solar system treats it as part of the general process of star formation. As observational information has steadily increased, the field of plausible models for this process has narrowed.
About 4.6 billion years ago, this gigantic cloud was transformed into our Sun. The processes that followed gave rise to the solar system, complete with eight planets, 181 moons, and countless asteroids. Researcher Tim Gregory explains how it burst into being.