Planets Forming Inside vs. Outside the Ice Line

AI Thread Summary
Rocky planets typically form closer to a star due to their composition of heavier materials, while gas giants tend to form further away. The "Ice Line" plays a crucial role in this process, as it marks the distance where ice can condense, allowing for the accumulation of more material in the outer regions. Initially, it was believed that rocky planets would only form inside the Ice Line, but discoveries of "Hot Jupiters" and other exoplanets have shown that migration can occur, with planets moving inwards or outwards from their original formation locations. This migration challenges previous assumptions about planet formation and distribution. Understanding these dynamics is essential for studying planetary systems beyond our own.
KevinMWHM
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Is it common for rocky planets to form closer to a star and gas planets further?

Why or why not is this?
 
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KevinMWHM said:
Is it common for rocky planets to form closer to a star and gas planets further?

Why or why not is this?

Well I don't know how many terrestrial planets have been found around other stars... as far as I know there haven't been any. Reason being is that they are too close to the star and fairly small to be directly observed.

The reason they form closer to the star is simply because they are made out of heavier materials
 
KevinMWHM said:
Is it common for rocky planets to form closer to a star and gas planets further?

Why or why not is this?

Before the discovery of "Hot Jupiters", "Hot Neptunes" and "Super-Earths" people expected the rocky planets to form inside the "Ice Line" and gaseous/icy planets to form outside of it. The "Ice Line" is the distance around the proto-star at which ice can condense from gaseous into solid form, and it means a lot more material - commonly called "ices" - becomes trapped by the proto-planets and thus they form heavier than the rocky planets.

Since then we've learned that kinds of planets can form in one place then migrate inwards or outwards from the proto-star. Many of the known exoplanets seem to have migrated from beyond the Ice Line.
 

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