Jakarta –
We cannot completely know when the planets in the solar system formed for sure, but scientists are constantly looking for the latest facts about these extraterrestrial objects. Then, what are the oldest and youngest planets in the solar system?
In site IFL Science explained that the possibility of being the oldest planet is Jupiter. The planet that has the largest volume in the solar system does not orbit the Sun exactly like other planets.
After Jupiter, the planets that develop and have a large size are Neptune and Uranus. But before the existence of these two planets, it was Jupiter and Uranus that had swept most of the gas in the outer Solar System.
As for Mars, it reached its current size quickly, even faster than Earth and Venus. In determining the age of a planet, astronomers use the number of craters on its surface.
The Youngest Planet in the Solar System
Unlike the determination of the youngest planet, experts still often debate it. The two planets that are said to have the youngest ages in the solar system are Uranus and Earth.
The two planets have experienced a major collision. Earth was once thought to have collided with Theia, a planetoid the size of Mars 4.5 billion years ago. The formation of the oceans and plate tectonics on the earth’s surface occurred approximately 3.6 billion years ago.
Similar to Earth, Uranus is also thought to have experienced a collision with an object the size of Earth which damaged its surface. The collision also gave Uranus a sideways spin and a very strange magnetic field.
Formation of Planets
Citing the site Science Alert, the formation of planets is a process that is very complicated and difficult to understand. In determining what process occurs, astronomers usually use the most popular theory, namely nuclear accretion.
A planet could have originated as dust grains on a disk that gradually accumulated and then electrostatically stuck together. Then, gravitationally the planet grew bigger.
In addition, another theory in the formation of planets is the nebula theory. In this theory, planets began to form as a result of cohesive clumping and gravity. At the formation of the Earth, this process continued about 10 – 20 Ma later.
Watch Video “NASA Releases Pictures of the Beauty of Planet Uranus“
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