Final answer:
The solar nebula was cleared as it collapsed and formed a star at its center through processes of vaporization, accretion, and the conservation of angular momentum, with the remaining debris being incorporated into celestial bodies or ejected from the system.
Step-by-step explanation:
The solar nebula was cleared of material as it collapsed under its own gravity. As the nebula collapsed, it heated up, causing most of the material to vaporize. Eventually, the nebula began to cool, but the center, where the conditions were hottest and most crowded, formed a star. The newly formed star continued to maintain high temperatures, producing its own energy. Additional mechanisms like turbulent motions and magnetic fields within the newly formed disk helped to dissipate angular momentum, allowing some of the material to be accreted by the growing star while the rest stabilized to form the planetary system.
Over time, as the star formed in the center of the solar nebula, the disk-like structure around it resulted in condensation and accretion, which led to the creation of planetesimals. The process of formation also involved the conservation of angular momentum, which explains the flat, disk-like distribution of orbits in our solar system today. As the planets formed, they heated up due to the accretion of infalling material, leading to differentiation and, in the case of giant planets, the attraction of gases from the nebula. Finally, most of the debris within the solar nebula was either incorporated into planets and other celestial bodies or ejected, leaving a relatively clear space around the newly formed Sun.