What materials primarily comprised planetesimals forming inside the snow line of the protoplanetary disk?
Answer
Only silicates (rock) and metals.
The location within the protoplanetary disk relative to the snow line dictated the chemical composition available for planetesimal formation. Inside the snow line, temperatures near the proto-Sun were too high for volatiles like water to condense into solid ice. Consequently, planetesimals forming in this inner region accreted material solely from the refractory components—silicates, which form rock, and metals like iron. This limited solid material budget ultimately restricted the mass attainable by these bodies, leading to the formation of the smaller terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
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