Birth of the Solar System

Watch this excellent National Geographic video which details how the solar system was born using breathtaking animations. Learn how the Sun was born billions of years ago and started the process of nuclear fusion, releasing photons as it combined hydrogen atoms to form helium. Stars such as the Sun release huge amounts of energy over the billions of years they exist and their lifetime often ends in a spectacular explosion, the intense energy helping form new elements. The creation of our solar system was part of a series of violent explosions and intense radiation going all the way back to the Big Bang that most scientists agree created the Universe.