Although the Earth was formed, together with the other planets, at the birth of the solar system, geological activity has since erased all but a hint of the processes that accompanied its formation. If we wish to explore the processes that occurred in the earliest solar system, and the nature of the environment in which they took place, we must turn to the record contained in more primitive material. Many meteorites appear to satisfy that criterion, and much effort has been applied during the past twenty years or so in identifying those meteorites, or their constituents, that have retained a reliable record of the early solar system. This book provides a synthesis of what has been learned so far about the earliest stages of solar system history through the study of meteorites, and what, given our current level of understanding, remains to be learned. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Source Regions 3. Secondary Processing 4. Irradiation Effects 5. Solar System Chronology 6. Chondrites and the Early Solar System 7. Elemental Composition of Chondrites 8. Magnetic Fields in the Early Solar System 9. Chondrules10. Primitive Material Surviving in chondrites11. Micrometeorites12. Inhomogencity of the Nebula13. Survival of Presolar Material in Meteorites14. Nucleosynthesis15. Nucleocosmochronology16. Summary

Origin of the Solar System covers the proceedings of the conference held at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York on January 23-24, 1962. The book focuses on the issues related with the origin and development of the solar system, as well as star formation, solar nebula, and protostars. The selection first offers information on the historical review of theories of the origin of the solar system, including the role of turbulence, influence of electric and magnetic effects, and modern tidal theories. The book also ponders on star formation and contraction of the sun toward the main sequence. Discussions focus on the environment and stages of star formation, instability of protostar, collapse and fragmentation, and Helmholtz contraction of protostar. The text evaluates the formation of the planets, light nuclei, and solar nebula and dissipation of the solar nebula. The book also takes a look at meteorites and the early history of the solar system, as well as early thermal history of meteoritic matter, chemical fractionations in chondrites, and extinct radioactivity and general isotopic anomalies. The selection is a dependable source of information for readers interested in the origin of the solar system.

They range in size from microscopic particles to masses of many tons. The geologic diversity of asteroids and other rocky bodies of the solar system are displayed in the enormous variety of textures and mineralogies observed in meteorites. The composition, chemistry, and mineralogy of primitive meteorites collectively provide evidence for a wide variety of chemical and physical processes. This book synthesizes our current understanding of the early solar system, summarizing information about processes that occurred before its formation. It will be valuable as a textbook for graduate education in planetary science and as a reference for meteoriticists and researchers in allied fields worldwide.