Tech

Jupiter may have eaten the subplanets into metal: Scientists


Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and is 2.5 times more massive than all the other planets combined. Most will remember that Jupiter is mostly made of helium and hydrogen. But unlike most other gas giants, there is a significant presence of metals in the composition of the planet. Scientists have finally identified the source of this metal in Jupiter – the other terrestrial planets that Jupiter consumed before they fully formed.

Using the Gravity Science instrument on board From NASA Juno probe, scientists begin to determine the composition of Jupiter. Juno, named after the Roman Goddess of the same name, who was married to the Roman god Jupiter, entered Jupiter’s orbit in 2016 and used radio waves to measure the gravitational field around the planet. pure.

Scientists used the tools to determine that the metallic elements found in Jupiter, total 11 to 30 times the mass of Jupiter. The earth, is buried deep inside the planet. The metals are closer to the center of Jupiter than in the outer layers.

“There are two mechanisms by which a gas giant like Jupiter acquires metal during its formation: through the accretion of small pebbles or larger planets,” speak Yamila Miguel, lead author of the study titled “Jupiter’s Heterogeneous Envelope,” published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

“We know that once a subplanet is large enough, it will start to push the boulders out. The abundance of metal inside Jupiter that we see now was unattainable before. So , we can rule out the scenario where only the pebbles were solid during the formation of Jupiter. The planets weren’t too big to be blocked, so they must have played some role.”

Planets are solid objects in space formed from cosmic dust particles. Once they grow to about a kilometer in size, these planets can use their gravitational fields to grow larger – into protoplanets.

“Our results imply that Jupiter continues to accumulate heavy elements in large quantities while its hydrogen-helium shell is developing, contrary to predictions based on the isolated mass of the pebble. in its simplest incarnation, favoring more complex or planet-based hybrid models instead,” Miguel said.



Source link

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button