Gas giants: how large planets were formed

Gas planets are celestial bodies composed of hydrogen and helium. That is, the same substances as ordinary stars. However, in terms of their size, mass and geophysical properties, they are still planets, albeit very similar to cold dwarfs located closer to the brown spectrum.

Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn are the largest and most massive planets in our system, influencing the motion of the Earth and even the Sun.

How are gas planets born?
Giant exoplanets are often observed in many stellar worlds, where small Earth-sized formations are the exception rather than the rule.

The formation of gas giants is closely related to the formation of protoplanetary discs. Stars form as a result of the collapse of molecular clouds, regions of dense gas and dust in interstellar space.

When a cloud collapses, it rotates faster and flattens into a disc with a hot core in the centre. Over time, the core turns into a new star. And the protoplanetary disc concentrates the remnants of the material from the star formation process. A kind of "debris" that was not included in the local sun. [1]

The protoplanetary disc is divided into different zones, depending on the distance and size of the central luminary and its temperature.

The inner zone, which is close to the star and remains hot for a long time, is the location of rocky planets, which are formed from the accretion of dust grains and planetesimals.

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