We know that 4.5 billion years ago our solar system of planets formed as a byproduct of the formation of an average star, our Sun. The Sun, like other stars, formed by the collapse of a gas and dust cloud. As it collapsed it formed a disk of gas and dust around the early Sun known as the solar nebula. It was in this nebula that the planets, asteroids and comets were created. Remnants of this era are preserved in primitive meteorites, known as chondrites, and in dust particles, samples of asteroids and comets, and allow us to directly study the origins of our Solar System in the laboratory.

The physical environment in the Solar Nebula, such as the temperature, gas pressure and the amount of dust, helped forge the Solar System we know today. Primitive meteorites contain components formed in the nebula and record this environment. Learn more

Our Sun probably formed with many other stars, some of which lived and died very quickly. The radiation and radioactive elements produced in the Sun's sibling stars helped shape our Solar System. This astrophysical setting of the Solar System's birth place is recorded in meteorites and extraterrestrial dust. Learn more

What was the timeline of events that happened in the early Solar System and how did this affect its final form? Advances in the dating of rocks using radioactive elements allows the components of meteorites to be dated in detail. Learn more

How did the Solar Nebula change with distance from the Sun and how does this compare with other young stars? The planets in our Solar System change dramatically with distance, how did this change occur? Samples of meteorites from known locations in our Solar System will help answer this question. Learn more