264 | Sabine Stanley on What's Inside Planets
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
Reevaluating Planet Formation from Exoplanet Discoveries
Exoplanet discoveries have challenged the traditional understanding of planet formation, showing that planets can vary significantly from our solar system's layout. The early detection of exoplanets larger than Jupiter, orbiting closer to their stars than Mercury, prompted scientists to reconsider the process of planet formation. The assumption that inner planets are rocky because they lost their atmosphere, while outer planets are gaseous because they could retain it, was found to be inaccurate. Instead, it was revealed that inner planets are rocky because they couldn't gather gas fast enough, whereas outer planets could accumulate more material due to their abundance of building blocks.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
