A dusty disk of leftover material from star formation surrounds a young sun in this animation. Tiny dust grains in the disk can build up layers of ice and other material over thousands of years, and eventually be swept up by forming planets. Credit: NASA-JPL, Robert L. Hurt (Caltech). | Space Telescope Science Institute

477K views · 7.3K reactions | 16,000 year evolution  A supercomputer simulation shows a turbulent molecular cloud and rotating disk of dense gas around a young star. Under the force of gravity, the disk collapses, forming spiral arms and clumps, which could result in the formation of planets or brown dwarfs. | NASA Ames Research Center | Facebook