What is the evidence supporting the nebula theory of Solar System formation?
The standard model for formation of the Solar System is that it formed from a giant interstellar cloud. What is the evidence to support this theory? Perhaps the most convincing line of evidence supporting this theory are observations of the same process currently happening elsewhere in our Galaxy. It would be strange if our Solar System formed in a different way to every other system in the Galaxy, since physics is supposed to work the same way everywhere. We see stars forming in the depths of giant clouds of gas and dust, and we even see young stars with disks of debris around them, which look just like the debris disk we think the planets formed from. Other lines of evidence come from simulations of the process. Many astronomers spend most of their time constructing detailed simulations of physical processes in computers. You can put into the simulation details of how the physics should happen and then run it to see what the result is. Current simulations of the formation of a solar
