accretion disk
noun
variants
or less commonly accretion disc
plural accretion disks also accretion discs
: a disk of usually gaseous matter surrounding a massive celestial object (such as a black hole) in which the matter gradually spirals in toward and accretes onto the object as a result of gravitational attraction
Evans' team studied a supermassive black hole with jets 800 million light-years away named 3C 33. They never found an expected X-ray pattern … which results from light reflecting off the accretion disk.—Bill Andrews
Most other moons are either captured planetesimals, or they formed along with the planet in a common accretion disc.—Daniel Herwartz, et al.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share