nebular hypothesis

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. the theory that the solar system evolved from a mass of nebular matter: prominent in the 19th century following its precise formulation by Laplace.

---

nebular hypothesis British  

noun

1. the theory that the solar system evolved from the gravitational collapse of nebular matter

---

nebular hypothesis Scientific  

/ nĕb′yə-lər /

1. A model of star and planet formation in which a nebula contracts under the force of gravity, eventually flattening into a spinning disk with a central bulge. A protostar forms at the nebula's center. As matter condenses around the protostar in the bulge, planets are formed from the spinning matter in the disk. This theory is widely accepted to account for the formation of stars and planetary systems such as ours. The first version of the nebular hypothesis was proposed in 1755 by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant and modified in 1796 by Pierre Laplace.

2. ◆ The nebula that according to this hypothesis condensed to form the solar system is called the solar nebula.

---

Etymology

Origin of nebular hypothesis

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nebular hypothesis

Beginning around 1860, Kelvin and other physicists started estimating the ages of the Earth and Sun using the nebular hypothesis proposed around 1750 by Immanuel Kant and Pierre Laplace.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 5, 2021

He was a physicist who anticipated Kant and Laplace in the nebular hypothesis, and a paleontologist far ahead of his time.

From Time Magazine Archive

But last week it looked as though the encounter theory was about ready for the scrap heap, along with the nebular hypothesis of Laplace.

From Time Magazine Archive

To a casual kibitzer, cribbage is as baffling as the nebular hypothesis.

From Time Magazine Archive

The nebular hypothesis lends itself readily to both.

From Pioneers of Science by Lodge, Oliver, Sir