An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

In a → protoplanetary disk, the limit between the regions where water is gaseous and the region where it is cold enough for water to become ice. The core accretion theory predicts that → giant planets form just outside the snow line where they can accrete enough rock and ice to generate a core. Subsequently the core grows into a gas giant like
→ Jupiter or → Saturn via the → accretion of hydrogen and helium. The snow line location depends on the → luminosity of the central star. For solar system it is about 5 AU, the position of Jupiter. Also known as ice line.

Etymology (EN): → snow; → line.

Etymology (PE): Marz, → frontier; yax, → ice.