Jupiter was a very different world when she was young, twice as much as today, and the function of waving the magnetic field is 50 times as powerful as it is today.
New research published in natural astronomy shows that 3.8 million years after the first solid in the solar system formed, the gas giant still contracted in its original swollen state, while enhancing a large amount of material through surrounding gas and debris disks.
Discovery is drawn from a clever detective story that combines the orbital dynamics of Jupiter’s small moons with the ancient history of Earth’s rotation. By tracking how these moons moved during Jupiter’s early evolution, scientists have reconstructed detailed snapshots of the age of the giant planet’s growth.
Clues hidden in the moon’s orbit
The breakthrough comes from studying internal satellites of Jupiter – especially the amalthea and thebe, two small satellites that are closer to Earth than the famous Galilee satellite. The bodies of these rocks carry gravity fingerprints of their violent past when the powerful Moon IO passed through the Jovian system when Earth was young.
When IO moved to Jupiter billions of years ago, it passed through precise orbital resonance through smaller satellites. These gravitational encounters kick Amalthea onto the current tilted track, leaving permanent evidence of IO when the original disk finally dissipates.
Orbital forensics showed that IO began its inward journey with a current radius of about 1.6 to 1.9 times Jupiter. Since IO will be trapped near the inner edge of the air disk around Jupiter, this measurement provides a direct window into the size of the young planet.
A magnetic type
The research team led by Konstantin Batygin and Fred Adams utilizes the protection of Angular momentum from Jupiter’s current rotational speed to its ancient dimensions. Their calculations show that Jupiter initially spans 2 to 2.5 times the current radius, making it about the size of a small star.
This huge young Jupiter produced a corresponding huge magnetic field. The Earth’s surface magnetic field intensity reaches about 21 millitela, while today’s value is about 0.4 millitesla. This magnetic behemoth is powerful enough to emit a large amount of cavity on the surrounding gas disk, thereby regulating the planet’s spin and its appetite for new materials.
The main findings of the study include:
- Jupiter’s original radius is 2-2.5 times larger than today’s
- The Earth’s magnetic field is about 50 times stronger
- Jupiter accumulates 1.2-2.4 Jupiter crowds per million years
- The Earth’s rotation period is significantly faster than today’s 10-hour day
Shrinking Giant
Why was the early Jupiter so huge? The answer lies in the way giant planets are formed through core core processes. After Jupiter’s rock core reaches critical mass, it triggers an out-of-control gas accumulation, causing the young planet to expand into a huge proportion. The newly formed giant is hot, fluffy, and still glows from the intense birth energy.
For millions of years, Jupiter has slowly contracted under its own gravity while emitting its original heat. This gradual contraction lasted for a long time after the surrounding solar nebula disappeared, eventually creating a more compact world we see today.
Time proves crucial to understanding the history of the solar system. This study points out Jupiter’s expansion state that happened to form exactly in the early solar system in the calcium-aluminum inclusions (the first solid materials). This timeline comes from meteorite evidence, indicating when the Sun Nebula will eventually spread.
Engineering Solar System
The early evolution of Jupiter had a profound impact on the entire solar system. The huge size and powerful magnetic field of the Earth will greatly affect the formation of smaller worlds in the inner solar system. Its gravitational coverage can scatter asteroids and comets, while its magnetic bubbles deflect charged particles from the young sun.
The study also reveals how Jupiter’s satellite system formed. The powerful magnetic field carves a cavity on the surrounding disk, creating conditions to capture the satellite and sorting it into the resonant chain we observe today. Without this magnetic structure, the Galileo satellite may never be able to achieve its current orbital harmony.
What makes detective work particularly elegant is how it avoids the usual uncertainty in the planetary model. Instead of relying on complex theoretical calculations, the researchers directly measure the ancient characteristics of Jupiter using preserved orbital evidence.
As Jupiter continues its slow thermal evolution today, it reminds people that even the largest planet in our solar system is beginning to be swollen, but is very different from its current state. The gas giant now dominates our external solar system once twice the size of the magnetic monster, dominating over very different celestial neighbors.
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