Astronomers are still learning much about the solar system. Though there has been many discoveries, in part because of an advancement in technology, astronomers are learning about it. One of those things that astronomers are learning is when the planets were formed. A new research shows when Jupiter was likely formed.
Many objects in the solar system can offer clues as to how it has been formed. Researchers are looking into meteorites to see how and when Jupiter has been formed. There are some who theorize that Jupiter did not form where it is currently now. Astronomers are looking at Mars, since its size is said to be smaller than models show it should.
By looking at these clues, astronomers think that Jupiter might have migrated to its current position. Brandon Johnson, a planetary scientist from Brown University who is leading the research, is looking into meteorites known as CB chondrites for clues about Jupiter's past. The meteorites early in the solar system collided with one another at great speeds. He has proposed that Jupiter's gravity might have helped in making these meteorites collide at such speeds.
As Johnson has proposed, Jupiter would have been much closer to the Asteroid Belt than it is now to have that effect. The CB chondrites also have vaporized iron on it, according to Brown University's site. Such vaporized iron can only occur if two objects collide at very high speeds, as Johnson has said.
Along with Kevin Walsh from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Johnson developed models of the chondrite period of the solar system. The models have Jupiter near where the Asteroid Belt is, as Phys Org reports. At first Jupiter formed near the edge of the solar system, but as it acquired mass it gradually moved to a point near the Asteroid Belt.
In the models made, the CB chondrites behaved much like it would if Jupiter was near them. That means having the meteorites collide with one another at very high speeds. Later, when Saturn was formed, its gravity pulled Jupiter into its present location. The models have also shown that this time of chondrite forming was short, spanning to only 500,000 years. It would have ceased by the time Jupiter is in its present location.
Research shows when Jupiter was likely formed. It shows that meteorites have collided rapidly while Jupiter was near them, which has been the evidence that Jupiter was near the Asteroid Belt for some time. A study has also shown a similarity in comets' chemical composition, which is important in knowing how the solar system was formed.
