What processes were responsible for Jupiter’s formation? This is what a recent study published in Scientific Reports hopes to address as an international pair of scientists investigated the physical, chemical, and geological processes responsible for forming the largest planet in our solar system. This study has the potential to help scientists understand not only the formation and evolution of Jupiter but could also provide key insights into the formation and evolution of gas giants throughout the cosmos.
For the study, the researchers used a combination of computer models to demonstrate how molten rock droplets called chondrules not only contributed to the formation but also could be used as a timestamp for when Jupiter first formed. The goal of the models was to ascertain how and when Jupiter’s gravity influenced the formation mechanisms of the early solar system, specifically regarding accretion, or when rocks clump together to form larger bodies, and how this contributed to Jupiter’s own formation. In the end, the models indicated that Jupiter began forming approximately 1.8 million years after the formation of the solar system. For context, the solar system formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago.
“We compared the characteristics and abundance of simulated chondrules to meteorite data and found that the model spontaneously generated realistic chondrules,” said Dr. Diego Turrini, who is a senior researcher at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and co-author of the study. “The model also shows that chondrule production coincides with Jupiter’s intense accumulation of nebular gas to reach its massive size. As meteorite data tell us that peak chondrule formation took place 1.8 million years after the solar system began, this is also the time at which Jupiter was born.”
Better understanding both the processes and timing of Jupiter’s formation could help scientists piece together how and when other planets throughout the solar system formed, along with similar processes and timing for exoplanets throughout the cosmos.
What new discoveries will scientists make about Jupiter’s formation and evolution in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Scientific Reports, EurekAlert!
Featured Image Credit: NASA/STSCI (S.T.A.R.S)