20160616 - solar system

The Violent Biography of Our Solar System

New evidence suggests the solar system's early eras were defined by wandering worlds and staggering displays of interplanetary destruction

By Konstantin Batygin, Gregory Laughlin, Alessandro Morbidelli on May 1, 2016

The story of the birth of our solar system has been worn smooth through years of retelling. It starts billions of years ago with a black, slowly spinning cloud of gas and dust. The cloud collapses, forming our sun at its heart. In time, the eight planets, along with lesser worlds such as Pluto, emerge from leftover gas and debris swirling about our star. This system of sun and planets has been whirling through space ever since, its motions as accurate and predictable as clockwork.

 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-violent-biography-of-our-solar-system/