Cambridge IGCSE Physics · Syllabus 0625 · Space Physics
Accretion Disc
What is Accretion Disc?
An accretion disc is the wide, thin, rotating disc of gas and dust that forms when a rotating interstellar cloud collapses under its own gravitational attraction. The Solar System's planets formed from the material of such a disc, with the Sun forming at its dense hot centre.
This definition is part of the Space Physics chapter in Cambridge IGCSE Physics.