Scientists finally confirm when Jupiter was born. The clues were hiding on Earth

Scientists finally confirm when Jupiter was born. The clues were hiding on Earth

Around 4.6 billion years ago, as the young solar system formed, Jupiter’s rapid growth created enormous gravitational disturbances in the Solar System.

Scientists date the origin of Jupiter by studying the formation of “molten rock raindrops” - Scientific Inquirer

Four and a half billion years ago Jupiter rapidly grew to its massive size. Its powerful gravitational pull disrupted the orbits of small rocky and icy bodies similar to modern asteroids and comets, called planetesimals. This caused them to smash into each other at such high speeds that the rocks and dust they contained melted on impact and created floating molten rock droplets, or chondrules, that we find preserved in meteorites today.   Now, r…