The phrase
"icy planetesimals" refers to small objects made of ice and other materials that were present during the formation of planets. These
icy planetesimals are like tiny building blocks that came together over time to create larger bodies, such as planets.
Full definition
Both this molecule and its simpler cousin hydrogen cyanide (HCN) were found in the cold outer reaches of the star's newly formed disk, in a region that astronomers believe is analogous to our own Kuiper Belt — the realm
of icy planetesimals and comets beyond Neptune.
Icy planetesimals likely were the carriers of materials like water and carbon compounds that are the fundamental building blocks of life.
Even more importantly, the composition and role
of icy planetesimals, or small proto - planets, in planetary formation hangs in the balance — and with them, the origin of Earth and other terrestrial planets.
Comets represent
the icy planetesimals that are left over building blocks from the collapse of the solar nebula (Figure 11.2).