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Nature 393, 117-118 (14 May 1998) | doi:10.1038/30102

Open Innovation Challenges

Planet formation:  Grainy pictures of new worlds

Vincent Mannings1

We know that planetary bodies in our Solar System began by agglomeration of dust grains, rocks and mountain-sized asteroids. We also know that most of the work was done during the first 10 million years (Myr) after the Sun's birth, when the young star was encircled by an immense disk of grains and gas.

  1. Vincent Mannings is at the California Institute of Technology, Department of Astronomy, MS 105-24, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.