NASAJupiter was once twice its current sizeNASA
Jupiter, the largest planet orbiting the Sun, underwent a period of rapid growth, reaching twice its current volume 3.8 million years after the formation of the Solar System, concluded astronomers from the University of Michigan (UM), USA. Its magnetic field, 50 times stronger than it is today, helped the planet accumulate surrounding material. As the material dissipated, Jupiter began to contract under its own gravity. Its volume shrank and its rotation speed increased. Jupiter is still shrinking, albeit slowly, as both its surface and internal temperatures continue to drop. This discovery “brings us closer to understanding how not only Jupiter but the entire Solar System took shape,” UM’s Konstantin Batygin told the website ScienceAlert (Nature Astronomy, May 20).
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