SETI Institute Lecture: Giant Planet Formation

SETI Institute Lecture: Giant Planet Formation

10/29/2008 Dr. Jack Lissauer, Space Sciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center Giant Planet Formation The observed properties of giant planets, models of their evolution, and observations of protoplanetary disks all provide constraints on the formation of gas giant planets. The four largest planets in our Solar System contain considerable quantities of hydrogen and helium, which could not have condensed into solid planetesimals within the protoplanetary disk. The preponderance of evidence ...