A large body of matter that is postulated to play a role in the formation of a planet. Protoplanets are formed from planetisimals and are held together by gravity; they are between about 100 and 1000 km in size. The interior of a protoplanet will have undergone melting due to impacts, gravitation, and the presence of radioactive elements, resulting in an internal structure in which heavier elements sink to the centre. The first direct observation of a protoplanet was in 2013.