Jupiter was formerly twice its current size and had a much stronger magnetic field, study says

Scientists Find Jupiter Used to Be Twice Its Current Size Before Shrinking Dramatically

You don't need us to tell you that Jupiter, which has more than twice the mass of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, is the biggest game in town (other than the Sun, at least.) But believe it or not, it may have once been even bigger. Try more than double its current size, according to new research from Caltech and the University of Michigan — boasting enough volume to fit 2,000 Earths inside it with room to spare. Over time, th…

Scientists just found out Jupiter used to be way bigger

Scientists say the gas giant played a pivotal role in shaping the solar system.

Jupiter designed the solar system. Here's what the planet was like as a child.

Jupiter, the largest planet orbiting the sun, used to be much bigger and stronger when the solar system was just beginning to take shape, a pair of astronomers say. Two scientists at Caltech and the University of Michigan suggest that early Jupiter was at least double its contemporary size. The primitive version of the gas giant could have held some 8,000 Earths within it, said Konstantin Batygin, lead author of the new study.  What's more, youn…

Determination of Jupiter’s primordial physical state

The formation and early evolution of Jupiter played a pivotal role in sculpting the large-scale architecture of the Solar System, intertwining the narrative of Jovian early years with the broader story of the Solar System’s origins. The details and chronology of Jupiter’s formation, however, remain elusive, primarily due to the inherent uncertainties of accretionary models, highlighting the need for independent constraints. Here we show that, by

Jupiter is shrinking and used to be twice as big, mind-boggling study reveals

Astronomers have calculated that the gas giant Jupiter used to be twice as big as it is now, based on the odd orbits of two of its many moons.