Continual matter accretion into the solar system

Rapid accretion of matter takes place while the solar system resides in a dark cloud of high density. The mass thus accreted may be comparable to the mass of the planetary system. Since the elemental abundances in a dark cloud are considered to be heterogeneous due to matter processed inside stars and then ejected, the continual accretion causes elemental heterogeneities in the solar system.Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén on the occasion of his 70th birthday, 30 May 1978.