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Glite Dictionary
protoplanetary

protoplanetary

1 9.8
About the early stage when dust and gas come together to form planets
  • adjective
  • /ˌproʊtoʊˈplænɪˌtɛri/
  • Specialized
: protoplanetario
  • Did planets develop from the materials found in a protoplanetary disk surrounding a young star?
  • protoplanetary disk

Turns out solids in the protoplanetary disk do just this.

Examples

  • Since the outer protoplanetary disk contains many more icy than rocky planetesimals, bigger planets can form there.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Altogether, IRAS found some 40 stars within 75 light years that exhibited rings of protoplanetary material similar to Vega.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Turns out solids in the protoplanetary disk do just this.

    Lex Fridman

  • Do planets form as single, precious jewels in a protoplanetary disk, or are they born with many siblings?

    Academic text (2000)

  • That system is perfectly planar in both stars and planets, arguing for a simple protoplanetary disk and its evolution.

    Blog text (17)

  • Why doesn't the matter in Saturn's rings accumulate like the matter in a protoplanetary disk?

  • The answers are still being worked out on computers throughout the world, but one hypothesis is that enormous numbers of planetesimals form in the protoplanetary disk.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Protoplanetary disks are known to last only a few million years, and dating of meteorites suggests that our own Solar Nebula lasted no more than about three million years.

    Academic text (2005)

  • In the standard scenario for planet formation, as a star collapses from a cloud of dust and gas, some leftover dust and gas spreads into a protoplanetary disc.

    Academic text (1995)

  • This system shows all ingredients required by unified models: Herbig-Haro objects, a molecular outflow, a collimated twin jet, and the suspicion of a protoplanetary disc.

    Academic text (1995)

Antonyms

mature
93 3.4

Fully developed and ready to eat or use

How Developed

planetary
  • Specialized
82 5.1
protoplanetary
  • Specialized
1 9.8
primordial
27 8.9

Surface Forms

protoplanetary positive

Morphology

protoplanetary = planetary (semi-transparent) = proto + planet + ary

The word is built transparently from 'planetary' with the prefix 'proto-', but the scientific sense is specialized and not fully predictable for a typical learner.

Etymology

Protoplanetary starts with proto- meaning 'first', as in prototype, and includes planet, a world in space. It names the very first stage when dust and gas come together to form a new planet, so protoplanetary means the beginning stage of a planet.