• Question: how do you think the world was made?

    Asked by avkatie2000 to Carol, Ellie, John, Philip, Rebecca on 25 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by lukep, islamg1999.
    • Photo: Eleanor Turpin

      Eleanor Turpin answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      Hi avkatie2000,

      This isn’t my research area, but I know scientists who work in astrophysics and geophysics. They say billions of years ago that there was a massive star where our solar system is now. The star got so hot and the pressure so high that it exploded – in an explosion called a super nova. Some of the debris that the star spat out cooled down and solidfied, becoming the planets, including Earth, whilst some of it heated up and became the Sun.

      Personally I think this explanation is correct but I know some people believe the world was made by a God.

    • Photo: John Welford

      John Welford answered on 26 Jun 2012:

      I agree with Ellies answer. There is a pretty detailed description of the process here:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Earth#Solar_System_formation

      It uses all the proper technical terms:
      Accretion – lots of little bits of matter collecting together through gravity to form a bigger object.
      Protoplanet – the beginnings of a planet forming.

      There is also an interesting theory of how the moon was created: another object crashed into our planet!

    • Photo: Carol White

      Carol White answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      I agree with both Ellie and John, which is the most widely accepted theory on how the Earth was made! Many religious people also believe this is how the Earth was formed, but with the addition of God being the creator of this.

      The BBC has some really cool videos and photos that help explain (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/earth_timeline/earth_formed).

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