Jupiter’s violent youth

Jupiter’s violent youth

Jupiter’s north: The color-enhanced image was taken by Juno on April 1, 2018, about 12,300 kilometers above the clouds.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Kevin M. Gil

The Juno spacecraft has discovered a strange core in the center of the gas giant. Their measurements indicate a violent collision with another primordial planet.

by THORSTEN DAMBECK

He is the undisputed ruler of the planets: Jupiter. At 318 Earth masses, it more than doubles the total mass of all other planetary bodies in the solar system. His entourage is also considerable: 79 moons are currently known - only Saturn can top it with 82.

But the giant started out small. Astronomers have found that when it was still a planetary embryo, its growth stalled at times. And later, apparently, he survived an enormous crash with another

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