AST 309 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Escape Velocity, Formins, Terrestrial Planet
Document Summary
Rocky planets are found in the inner solar system. Terrestrial planets likely began forming when the gas/ice giant formed, but may have taken longer to get up to final size. Terrestrial planets most likely formed by accretion process. But likelihood for sticking still not fully understood. If dust particles collide and stick together to result in growth, could get up to 1 meter sized bodies in less than 10,000 years, if you have. Some collisions may also occur at high speeds - resulting in dust breaking apart, rather than sticking together. The core accretion mechanism is still the generally accepted mechanism for terrestrial planet formation. But this is still a very active area of research in astronomy related to planet formation. Also need to fully understand where the frost line is . Terrestrial planets most likely form interior to the frost lines, while gas/ice giants likely form outside of it. A very active / dramatic young solar system.
