Skip to main content

The dust bunnies that built our planet - Lorin Swint Matthews

247,234 Views

4,083 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Consider the spot where you’re sitting. Travel backwards in time and it might’ve been submerged at the bottom of a shallow sea, buried under miles of rock or floating through a molten landscape. But go back about 4.6 billion years, and you’d be in the middle of an enormous cloud of dust and gas orbiting a newborn star. What exactly is this cosmic dust? Lorin Matthews investigates.

Planets form from the gas and dust that is leftover in a disk surrounding a newly formed star. Describe the steps in the growth from dust particles to solid planets. What are some of the processes that either help or hinder the growth of dust bunnies on the way to becoming planets?

Sign in to answer question

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Lorin Swint Matthews
  • Director Frederic Siegel
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Animator Frederic Siegel
  • Sound Designer Frederic Siegel
  • Music Alon Peretz
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Associate Editorial Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma

More from Out Of This World