The Sun's dominance in mass within the solar system is a consequence of its formation process and the dynamics of the early solar nebula. About 4.6 billion years ago, a vast cloud of gas and dust, known as the solar nebula, began to collapse under its gravitational self-attraction. As the collapse progressed, the material in the center of the nebula became more concentrated, forming the protostar that eventually evolved into the Sun. The Sun's gravitational pull was so strong that it attracted and accumulated the majority of the mass in the solar nebula, consolidating it at the center.
As the Sun formed, the remaining material in the solar nebula began to accrete into smaller bodies known as planetesimals. These planetesimals further collided and merged to form the planets, moons, asteroids, and other celestial bodies in the solar system. However, the vast majority of the original mass of the solar nebula was already incorporated into the growing Sun by the time these smaller bodies started to form. Consequently, the Sun ended up with over 99.8% of the total mass of the solar system.
The Sun's immense gravitational influence continues to govern the motions of planets and other objects within the solar system. Its gravitational pull keeps planets in orbit, and its radiant energy sustains life on Earth. Understanding the distribution of mass in the solar system sheds light on its formation and evolution, highlighting the pivotal role that the Sun's initial gravitational dominance played in shaping the structure we observe today.
