ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Protoplanetary disk

Hey kiddo! Have you ever wondered how stars and planets are born? Well, it all starts with something called a protoplanetary disk. It's like a big pancake made out of gas and dust that spins around a baby star (called a protostar).

Think of it like playing with Play-Doh. When you squish and roll the Play-Doh, it becomes flat like a pancake. That's what happens with the gas and dust when the baby star is forming.

The protoplanetary disk is really important in making planets because it's where all the building blocks of planets come from. Inside the disk, bits of dust and gas stick together like glue to form tiny particles. These particles can then stick together and make bigger and bigger particles until they eventually become planets.

It's kind of like making a snowball. You start with a little bit of snow and then you roll it around to make it bigger and bigger until it's a big snowball. Planets are made the same way, starting with small particles and growing bigger and bigger until they become the size of Earth, Jupiter, or even larger.

So, the protoplanetary disk is like a giant Play-Doh pancake that spins around a baby star and gives birth to planets. Pretty cool, huh?