Jupiter’s Mysterious Core Might Not Have Been Formed The Way We Thought

Modeling of the consequences of a giant body smashing into Jupiter has undermined one of the main theories used to explain the strange nature of its solid core. Not everyone is satisfied with the alternatives, however, so the quest to make sense of the innards of the king of planets will go on. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Although most of Jupiter’s volume is gas, data from the Juno mission indicate it does contain a solid core . Juno also revealed the core is nowhere near as dense as previously expected. Instead, it’s larger, but “dilute”, despite the immense pressure exerted by so much atmosphere pressing down under the planet’s epic gravity. Moreover, it seems there is no sharp boundary between the solid core