Hosted by Richard Drumm, your editor! Planets don't just pop out of nowhere, fully formed and ready for astronomers to study. First, they begin as tiny little specks of dust, forming inside the clouds of gas around baby stars, which are known as protoplanetary discs. These dusty specks condense from the hottest parts of the cloud, kinda like the way raindrops form inside rainclouds. Over time, the specks of dust collide and stick together, forming rocky pebbles. When enough of these pebbles clump together, they can collapse under their own weight to form asteroid-sized rocks. These new-born asteroids gravitationally attract the material around them until they've grown into full-sized planets. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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