Young Jupiter Swallows Rocky Planetesimals Before Evolving Into a Gas Giant Planet

Jupiter began its development, according to experts, by swallowing too much rock material. After how many years of evolution, this gigantic planet used the materials and evolved into a gassy place.

That means Jupiter's metal composition and distribution indicate that the planet ate a lot of rocky planetesimals during its early years. Metals are a minor component of this planet, but their existence and distribution reveal a lot to scientists.

Researchers published the study titled "Jupiter's inhomogeneous envelope" in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics with lead author Yamila Miguel, an Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at the Leiden Observatory & The Netherlands Institute for Space Research.

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Glimpses Jupiter’s Moons Io and Europa — NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of Jupiter’s southern hemisphere during the spacecraft’s 39th close flyby of the planet on Jan. 12, 2022. Zooming in on the right portion of the image (Figure B) reveals two more worlds in the same frame: Jupiter’s intriguing moons Io (left) and Europa (right). NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

Researchers Find Metals, Rock in Jupiter

Jupiter is usually acknowledged as the Solar System's oldest planet. Scientists, on the other hand, want to know how long it took to create.

According to Universe Today, research authors sought to use Juno's Gravity Science experiment to investigate the metals in the planet's atmosphere.

The existence and distribution of pebbles in Jupiter's atmosphere are crucial to understanding how the planet formed, and the Gravity Science experiment assessed pebble dispersion across the atmosphere. There was no exact data on Jupiter's gravity harmonics prior to Juno and its Gravity Science mission.

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According to experts, Jupiter's atmosphere isn't as homogeneous as imagined initially. Near the planet's center, there are more metals than in the other layers. The metals add up to between 11 and 30 Earth masses in total.

The authors also infer that once Jupiter originated, it did not mix through convection even when it was still young and heated. The findings of the researchers also apply to the study of gaseous exoplanets and attempts to identify their metallicity.

How The Findings Affect Starting Point for Exoplanets

Science Alert, citing the researchers, said the findings gave a starting point for exoplanets. According to the team, the non-homogeneous envelope means that the measured metallicity is a lower limit on the planet's bulk metallicity.

In the case of Jupiter, there was no way to tell its metallicity from afar. Scientists could only determine the metallicity indirectly after Juno landed. As a result, metallicities obtained from distant atmosphere measurements in exoplanets may not match the planet's bulk metallicity.

One of the first goals for the James Webb Space Telescope will be to measure exoplanet atmospheres and establish their composition. The data Webb gives may not capture what's going on in the deepest layers of large gas planets, as this research demonstrates.