Melinda Hutson

Chemistry of the Solar Nebula

The solar system is believed to have formed from a primordial gas and dust cloud, i.e., the primitive solar nebula (PSN). Constraints on the chemical composition and structure of the PSN are provided by ovserved densities and compositions of the planets, the asteroids and meteorites together with theoretical modelling. Many of these properties can be explained by equilibrium condensation from a solar composition gas. Other observations suggest that this model is too simple and additional processes, such as kinetic inhibition, heterogeneous accumulation, and volatile element transport must be considered.