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  2. Accretion (astrophysics) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accretion_(astrophysics)

    In astrophysics, accretion is the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter, typically gaseous matter, into an accretion disk. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Most astronomical objects , such as galaxies , stars , and planets , are formed by accretion processes.

  3. Accretion disk - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accretion_disk

    Thin disks were independently worked out by Lynden-Bell, Pringle, and Rees. Pringle contributed in the past thirty years many key results to accretion disk theory, and wrote the classic 1981 review that for many years was the main source of information about accretion disks, and is still very useful today.

  4. Nebular hypothesis - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebular_hypothesis

    The runaway accretion lasts between 10,000 and 100,000 years and ends when the largest bodies exceed approximately 1,000 km in diameter. [20] Slowing of the accretion is caused by gravitational perturbations by large bodies on the remaining planetesimals. [20] [65] In addition, the influence of larger bodies stops further growth of smaller ...

  5. Pebble accretion - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_accretion

    Pebble accretion is the accumulation of particles, ranging from centimeters up to meters in diameter, into planetesimals in a protoplanetary disk that is enhanced by aerodynamic drag from the gas present in the disk. This drag reduces the relative velocity of pebbles as they pass by larger bodies, preventing some from escaping the body's gravity.

  6. Origin of the Moon - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Moon

    The hypothesis of accretion suggests that the Earth and the Moon formed together as a double system from the primordial accretion disk of the Solar System [27] or even a black hole. [28] The problem with this hypothesis is that it does not explain the angular momentum of the Earth-Moon system or why the Moon has a relatively small iron core ...

  7. Bondi accretion - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondi_accretion

    In astrophysics, the Bondi accretion (also called Bondi–Hoyle–Lyttleton accretion), named after Hermann Bondi, is spherical accretion onto a compact object traveling through the interstellar medium. It is generally used in the context of neutron star and black hole accretion. To achieve an approximate form of the Bondi accretion rate ...

  8. Star formation - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_formation

    Of these, perhaps the most prominent is the theory of competitive accretion, which suggests that massive protostars are "seeded" by low-mass protostars which compete with other protostars to draw in matter from the entire parent molecular cloud, instead of simply from a small local region. [63] [64]

  9. Comet nucleus - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_nucleus

    Three-dimensional computer simulations indicate the major structural features observed on cometary nuclei can be explained by pairwise low velocity accretion of weak cometesimals. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] The currently favored creation mechanism is that of the nebular hypothesis , which states that comets are probably a remnant of the original ...