I have a vague recollection from the past that Jupiter is a “failed star” in that it is “close” to the mass required to begin fusion, so I was confused about how an exoplanet could have several times its mass and not be a star.
Turns out, the threshold for deuterium fusion is about 13x the mass of Jupiter, so I guess it’s “close” in that it’s closer than anything else in the solar system (other than the sun), but less close than I assumed. Still, Epsilon Indi Ab is even closer to becoming a brown star. Or perhaps a golden star? Because of the pee smell?
And lest you think this planet is niche or dorky, according to science:
with a temperature of about 275 K (2 °C; 35 °F), [Epsilon Indi Ab is] the coolest exoplanet to be directly imaged.
Apparently Jupiter’s gravity well can work both ways, either stopping asteroids from reaching us or giving them just enough energy to reach us. It’s quite impartial at that. This video from Braintruffle covers the gravitational dynamics: https://youtu.be/1zu41rrc_Ng
I have a vague recollection from the past that Jupiter is a “failed star” in that it is “close” to the mass required to begin fusion, so I was confused about how an exoplanet could have several times its mass and not be a star.
Turns out, the threshold for deuterium fusion is about 13x the mass of Jupiter, so I guess it’s “close” in that it’s closer than anything else in the solar system (other than the sun), but less close than I assumed. Still, Epsilon Indi Ab is even closer to becoming a brown star. Or perhaps a golden star? Because of the pee smell?
And lest you think this planet is niche or dorky, according to science:
So cool 😎
Since brown dwarfs are considered to be failed stars, Jupiter would be a “failed failed star”.
God Jupiter, get your shit together.
Apparently Jupiter’s gravity well can work both ways, either stopping asteroids from reaching us or giving them just enough energy to reach us. It’s quite impartial at that. This video from Braintruffle covers the gravitational dynamics: https://youtu.be/1zu41rrc_Ng
Jupiter you tricky minx
But you repeat yourself