Jupiter may have ‘devoured’ other smaller planets, new study says

Astronomers know very little about the inner workings of this gas giant. Now, though, NASA’s June space probe may have some new insight into how the planet formed. Researchers now believe that Jupiter may have “devoured” other smaller planets to fuel its own growth.
The idea of ​​one planet swallowing another might sound like something out of science fiction. However, scientists believe that Jupiter, the fifth-closest planet to the sun, devoured other planets during its formation.

For decades, scientists have been unable to “see” through the gas clouds covering the planet’s surface. Now NASA’s Juno probe is giving a glimpse. Researchers used gravitational data to peer into Jupiter’s clouds. The composition of the rocky material at the gas giant’s core suggests that Jupiter devoured the asteroid to fuel its growth.

It’s a bold claim, but one that’s been around for a while. With these new data, though, scientists finally have a bit of evidence that Jupiter’s devouring of other planets may not be just science fiction. This is especially meaningful because the gas giant needs to absorb a lot of mass to become as massive as it is now.

There are two main theories about how Jupiter formed. The first is that Jupiter accumulated billions of smaller space rocks. These rocks eventually form the condensed cores that make up the gas giant planets. Another theory, supported by this new evidence, is that Jupiter may have devoured other planets to grow to its current size.

These planets would be absorbed by the gas giant, eventually forming the planet’s dense core. Then, scientists believe, Jupiter began to absorb and collect gas from the birth of our sun. It’s also what helped form the clouds we see now covering the planet’s surface.
Of course, even with this evidence, scientists can’t be sure how Jupiter formed. It’s possible that Jupiter devoured smaller planets during its formation. However, since there is no way to see the formation of the planet itself, this cannot be confirmed. All scientists can do now is interpret the evidence we have found. And now, this evidence points to Jupiter as the planetary “devourer.”