What happens if an initial nebula fragment is part of a large cluster?
Answer
Nearby stars might strip away outer disk material before planet formation completes
The final architecture of a solar system is sensitive to its initial environment. If the parent nebula fragment is not isolated but resides within a dense stellar cluster, the gravitational influence exerted by these nearby stars can be disruptive. These external gravitational forces can effectively strip away some of the less tightly bound outer portions of the protoplanetary disk. This loss of material before planetesimals can fully develop can result in impoverished systems, perhaps featuring only close-in rocky planets or, in extreme cases, just the central star remaining.
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