Definition of protoplanet
: a hypothetical whirling gaseous mass within a giant cloud of gas and dust that rotates around a sun and is believed to give rise to a planet
- Trending Now: More Trending:
- hogwash probity sequacious inadmissible oligarch, pejorative
- ALL
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
Recent Examples of protoplanet from the Web
-
The discoveries, and the new method used to make them, are a thrilling advancement of exoplanet sciences to include protoplanets still in the process of formation, which were previously hidden from view.
-
Fortunately, the study of protoplanets is just getting started.
-
Therefore, the meteorite diamonds reveal information about their parent protoplanet.
-
The diamonds themselves may have been larger until the protoplanet was destroyed.
-
The diamond pieces inside the meteorite hold a compelling record of these protoplanets and their collisions, according to the study.
-
The protoplanet in question may have originated in the outer solar system and migrated inward to the inner solar system.
-
As Sarah Gibbens at National Geographic reports, in the first 10 million years of our planetary family, swarms of protoplanets composed of rock, dust and gas likely pinballed around the sun.
-
In the study, a research team found that the Almahata Sitta meteorite once belonged to a protoplanet, one of tens of early worlds that experienced impacts and buildups to ultimately create the rocky planets in our solar system.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'protoplanet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of protoplanet
1949
Learn More about protoplanet
-
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about protoplanet
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up protoplanet? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
