Massive collision could be the answer to Jupiter's strange core
- 5 years ago
HOUSTON, TEXAS — A cosmic collision between Jupiter and a protoplanet billions of years ago could explain the unexpected readings from NASA's Juno space probe.
According to a press release by Rice University, data from NASA's Juno space probe reported gravitational readings that suggest Jupiter's core is less dense and more extended than expected.
Rice astronomer Andrea Isella said the readings are puzzling, and that something happened that may have "stirred up the core".
After running thousands of computer simulations, the research team deduced that a fast-growing young Jupiter from some 4.5 billion years ago could have "perturbed" nearby embryo planets, resulting in a massive impact.
Isella said that because of Jupiter's, "strong gravitational focusing," head-on collisions were more common during the simulations. The dense high energy impactor would have been, "like a bullet", cutting the atmosphere and hitting the core of Jupiter directly.
Isella stated that before an impact, the core is extremely dense as it is surrounded by an atmosphere. A head-on collision would "spread things out" and "dilute the core".
Isella states that by understanding how Jupiter and other planets evolve, we might be able to answer the biggest question of all, whether life-supporting conditions exist anywhere else in the universe.
According to a press release by Rice University, data from NASA's Juno space probe reported gravitational readings that suggest Jupiter's core is less dense and more extended than expected.
Rice astronomer Andrea Isella said the readings are puzzling, and that something happened that may have "stirred up the core".
After running thousands of computer simulations, the research team deduced that a fast-growing young Jupiter from some 4.5 billion years ago could have "perturbed" nearby embryo planets, resulting in a massive impact.
Isella said that because of Jupiter's, "strong gravitational focusing," head-on collisions were more common during the simulations. The dense high energy impactor would have been, "like a bullet", cutting the atmosphere and hitting the core of Jupiter directly.
Isella stated that before an impact, the core is extremely dense as it is surrounded by an atmosphere. A head-on collision would "spread things out" and "dilute the core".
Isella states that by understanding how Jupiter and other planets evolve, we might be able to answer the biggest question of all, whether life-supporting conditions exist anywhere else in the universe.