protoplanets
Baby planets forming
Protoplanets are large bodies of matter in orbit around a star, formed from the accretion of smaller particles in a disk of gas and dust.
They represent an intermediate stage in planetary formation—too large to be asteroids, not yet fully developed into planets.
The early solar system contained dozens of protoplanets that eventually collided and merged.
Growth through external addition
- planetesimalsSmall accreting celestial objects
- dustFine settled particles
- gasFormless, expanding substance
- nebulaInterstellar gas formation
coalescence · aggregation · collision · gravity · clumping · debris · particles · disk
Goddess of hearth
- CeresGoddess of crops and growth
- PallasEpithet for Athena
- asteroidsSmall solar orbiters
- beltStrap securing trousers
Jupiter · Mars · Earth · impact · giant · terrestrial · rocky · ice
Testable proposed explanation
- theoryExplanatory set of principles
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- modelingSimulating or demonstrating form
- computationMathematical processing work
laboratory · analysis · dating · isotopes · chronology · geochemistry · sample · evidence
Worlds orbiting other stars
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- detectionAct of finding something
- infraredHeat-bearing electromagnetic waves
- spectraBands of separated wavelengths
telescope · Hubble · imaging · disks · gaps · signatures · brightness · orbits
accretion
Growth through external addition
- planetesimalsSmall accreting celestial objects
- dustFine settled particles
- gasFormless, expanding substance
nebula · coalescence · aggregation · collision · gravity · clumping · debris · particles · disk · condensation
Vesta
Goddess of hearth
belt · Jupiter · Mars · Earth · impact · giant · terrestrial · rocky · ice · core
hypothesis
Testable proposed explanation
- theoryExplanatory set of principles
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
- modelingSimulating or demonstrating form
computation · laboratory · analysis · dating · isotopes · chronology · geochemistry · sample · evidence · mechanism
exoplanets
Worlds orbiting other stars
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- detectionAct of finding something
- infraredHeat-bearing electromagnetic waves
spectra · telescope · Hubble · imaging · disks · gaps · signatures · brightness · orbits · dynamics
- cosmosuniverse, galaxies, galaxy, stars, star
- cosmic matterstars, galaxies, dark matter, cosmic dust, asteroids
- protoplanetary disksgas giants, planetesimals, accretion, snow line, midplane
protoplanetsplanets
Star-orbiting celestial bodies
terrestrial planets · gas giants · planetary cores · white dwarfs
protoplanetscosmic dust
Microscopic particles pervading space
planetesimals · pebbles · interstellar dust · asteroids · comets