Researchers: Huge planet could have hit Jupiter a long time ago

From Will Danam

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A planet of 10 times the mass could have collided with Jupiter, the largest in the solar system, soon after its completion in a terrible collision that seemed to have lasting effects on Jupiter's heart. announced Thursday researchers.

The violent collision, which should explain the information gathered by NASA 's Juno satellite, could have occurred millions of years after the birth of the Sun, about 4.5 billion years ago.

"We believe that collisions, especially the most massive, could have been common during the formation of the solar system," said astronomer Andrea Isela, a researcher at Rice University in Houston. For example, we think that our moon has formed after a similar event. But the collision we are supposed to have with Jupiter was huge. "

According to this scenario, the planet in formation and in collision with Jupiter would have been plunged into the depths of the immense planet that had swallowed it.

Jupiter, a massive gaseous planet covered with dense red, brown, yellow and white clouds, reaches 143,000 kilometers in diameter.

"Juno measures the gravitational field of Jupiter with exceptional accuracy," said Shang Fei Liu, an associate professor of astronomy at Sun Yat-sen University in Zhuhai, China, who leads the team. published in the journal Nature. Scientists use this information to identify the materials that make up the planet and its internal structures. "

(Reuters)