01:750:109 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud, Protostar
31 Oct 2018
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Document Summary
Many smaller objects collected into just a few large ones. Near protostar, it"s so hot that only metal and rock can be near it. Reach a point called the frost line - temps low enough for compounds to actually form ice. Ice could also form small particles outside the frost line. 3 to 4x more matter, larger planetesimals were able to form. Less dense, but more massive - force of gravity is larger. Gravity of these larger planets was able to draw in surrounding h and he gases leading to the formation of giant planets. A fracturing of the disk into smaller disks occurs: larger gaseous planets with many moons. Radiation and solar wind blew away the leftover gases. Rocky asteroids inside frost line (asteroid belt) When the planet is very hot, heavier elements (iron, metals) sink to the center, and lighter elements, (silica, rock) float above. Leftover planetesimals bombarded other objects in the late stages of solar system formation.
