protoplanet
thumb|4 Vesta|Vesta is one of the best known examples of a protoplanet. A protoplanet or planetary embryo is an astronomical body originated within a protoplanetary disk that has undergone internal melting to produce a differentiated interior.
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Article
7 sectionsContents
- The planetesimal hypothesis
- Evidence in the Solar System - surviving remnant protoplanets
- Extrasolar protoplanets - observed protoplanets
- Unconfirmed protoplanets
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|4 Vesta|Vesta is one of the best known examples of a protoplanet. A protoplanet or planetary embryo is an astronomical body originated within a protoplanetary disk that has undergone internal melting to produce a differentiated interior.
Protoplanets are thought to form out of kilometer-sized planetesimals that gravitationally perturb each other's orbits and collide, gradually coalescing into larger bodies through a process known as "runaway growth". Once accumulated enough mass, protoplanets will begin to assume a spherical shape due to hydrostatic equilibrium and become dwarf planets, those of which that subsequently succeed in dominating their own orbit will become planets proper.