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Planets: Formed From Dust, Gas, and Some Luck

NASA/W. Stenzel

Dr. Peter Plavchan is a planetary astronomer and has visited us before to talk about his search for extrasolar planets.

This week, he comes back to talk with us about the basic mechanisms at work in the formation of a solar system.

It is obvious that planets can form; after all our existence depends on that fact. However, what ingredients are necessary to make them? How long does it take to get planets and what kinds are there? Peter goes through the basic ideas behind the development of a solar system, from a disc to a final array of planets.

Dr. David Cornelison has been working as an educator and scientist in Arizona and Missouri universities for the last 32 years. From 2010-2018, he was the head of the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Materials Science at Missouri State University. His research interests lie at the intersection of experimental condensed-matter physics and astrophysics, while his educational efforts have focused on outreach to the K-12 school system. Most of all, he believes in curiosity-driven learning in the sciences and all other fields.