How giant impacts shaped the formation of the solar system’s planets

If you want to build a planet, you’re going to have to get your hands dirty. That’s the lesson from a recent paper, which outlines just how vital giant impacts are to the formation of planets.

Astronomers still aren’t exactly sure how planets get their start. Initially, star systems are just clouds of gas and dust swirling around a newborn star. Some of that gas coalesces to form the seeds of…