protoplanetary disk

/ prō′tə-plăn′ĭ-tĕr′ē /

1. A rotating disk of dust and gas that surrounds the core of a developing solar system. It may eventually develop into orbiting celestial bodies such as planets and asteroids.
2. See more at planetesimal

Example Sentences

We see the protoplanetary disk around it at an angle, but nearly “face-on.”

From The Daily Beast