Planet formation
The Snow Line
The distance from a young star beyond which it is cold enough for a volatile such as water to freeze into ice. Past the snow line the supply of solid material jumps, favouring the rapid growth of massive cores — one reason the Solar System's giant planets lie beyond it — and its location leaves an imprint on a planet's later atmospheric composition.
Highlights
- ›Where ice can condense — a boundary that favours giant planets
Methods, worlds & facilities
Across exoplanet science
Knowledge connections
- Associated withAtmospheric Metallicity & C/O Ratio
- Associated withProtoplanetary Disks
- Associated withCore Accretion
- Associated withAtmospheric Metallicity & C/O Ratio
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- 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.