What critical element allows outer solar system protoplanet cores to evolve into gas giants like Jupiter?
Answer
Reaching a mass threshold allowing rapid capture of hydrogen and helium gas
Protoplanets forming beyond the frost line benefit from a significantly increased supply of solid building material because water and other volatile compounds freeze into abundant ice grains. This abundance allows these cores to grow much larger, potentially reaching 10 to 20 times the mass of Earth. Once these massive cores cross a specific mass threshold, their gravity is sufficient to rapidly capture the vast quantities of light gases, primarily hydrogen and helium, that still permeate the surrounding protoplanetary disk, leading directly to the formation of Jovian planets such as Jupiter and Saturn.
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