Planet formation

Core Accretion

The leading model of planet formation: dust in a protoplanetary disk sticks into ever-larger bodies until a solid core grows massive enough — roughly ten Earth masses — to pull in a thick envelope of gas, becoming a giant planet. It naturally explains rocky planets, ice giants, and gas giants as a sequence, though building cores fast enough before the gas disperses is a live problem.

Highlights

›Grow a solid core, then capture gas — the standard model

Across exoplanet science

Knowledge connections

Associated withProtoplanetary Disks
Associated withPlanet-Formation Chemistry
Associated withGas giant
Associated withDisk Instability
Associated withPlanetary Migration
Associated withThe Snow Line
Associated withPebble Accretion

Sources

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

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Core Accretion

Highlights

Methods, worlds & facilities

Across exoplanet science

Knowledge connections

Sources

Core Accretion

Highlights

Methods, worlds & facilities

Across exoplanet science

Knowledge connections

Sources