noun
- celestial bodies in the early stages of planetary formation, formed from the accumulation of dust and gas in a protoplanetary disk
Usage: astronomy
Examples
- Scientists believe protoplanets formed through collisions of smaller rocky bodies.
- The protoplanets in our early solar system eventually became the planets we know today.
- Computer simulations show how protoplanets migrate within their stellar disks.
- Some protoplanets failed to accumulate enough material to become full planets.
- The largest protoplanets had enough gravity to capture gas and become gas giants.
- Astronomers have detected protoplanets forming around young stars.