protoplanetary disk

American  

[proh-toh-plan-i-ter-ee disk] / ˌproʊ toʊˈplæn ɪˌtɛr i ˈdɪsk /

noun

• protoplanetary disks
  plural

1. Astronomy. a disk composed of dust and gas whirling around a relatively young star and thought to be the precursor of a planetary system.

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protoplanetary disk Scientific  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• protoplanetary disks
  plural

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

protoplanetary disk

"We think these kinds of magnetic fields were helping to move gas from the protoplanetary disk, in toward this central star, the sun," Borlina says.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

Image: Artist’s impression of a protoplanetary disk distorted by a shock front created by an expanding bubble.

From Space Scoop ● Sep. 19, 2025

This so-called protoplanetary disk looks like a butterfly in the images, according to Monsch.

From Seattle Times ● May 14, 2024

It might just be an unlayered conglomeration of grains assembled in a metal-rich region of the protoplanetary disk of gas and dust surrounding the young Sun.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 13, 2023

As central stars form, the remainder of the cloud flattens into a whirling protoplanetary disk that weaves together worlds from turbulent swirls of gas, ice and dust.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 19, 2023

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