Rocky planets of the Earth's size and larger are thought to form through collisions between smaller planetary bodies. In the late stages of their formation, they likely experience one or more giant impacts that melt the planet's crust and mantle. Some impacts occur after the protoplanetary disk has dispersed.
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A collision between two planets in formation could help, against all expectations, to preserve the atmosphere. This result seems paradoxical: a shock of this kind releases enough energy to heat the rocks strongly and promote the escape of the gases to space....
Rocky planets of the Earth's size and larger are thought to form through collisions between smaller planetary bodies. In the late stages of their formation, they likely experience one or more giant impacts that melt the planet's crust and mantle. Some impacts occur after the protoplanetary disk has dispersed.