Can Jupiter Be Turned Into a Star? The Science of Stellar Ignition

The concept of turning Jupiter right into a “Second Solar” has lengthy been a staple of science fiction, most notably in Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010: Odyssey Two. However may we truly obtain this in actuality? If we have been to drop a large nuclear or hydrogen bomb into its environment, would the gasoline large ignite?

The brief reply is: No. Right here is the deep dive into why Jupiter stays a “failed star” and why even probably the most highly effective human weapons can’t change that.

The Fable of the “Spark”

One widespread false impression is that Jupiter is just a large ball of gas ready for a “match” to strike. Since Jupiter’s environment consists primarily of hydrogen and helium—the identical substances that energy the Solar—it’s tempting to suppose that a big sufficient explosion may set off a sequence response.

Nonetheless, stars don’t burn like a forest hearth. They function on the precept of nuclear fusion, which is basically completely different from chemical combustion. To start out fusion, you don’t simply want warmth; you want an amazing, sustained quantity of strain and gravity.

The Mass Downside: Why Jupiter is Too Gentle

In astrophysics, mass is king. For a celestial physique to develop into a star, its core should be sizzling and dense sufficient to drive hydrogen atoms to fuse into helium. This course of requires temperatures exceeding 10 million levels Celsius.

Whereas Jupiter is the biggest planet in our photo voltaic system, it’s nonetheless far too small to generate that sort of inner strain.

The Vital Threshold

Present astrophysical fashions counsel that for a gasoline large to provoke secure nuclear fusion, it will want a minimal mass of roughly 7% to 7.5% of the Solar’s mass ($M_{odot}$).

To place that in perspective:

• Jupiter’s present mass: $approx 0.001 M_{odot}$
• Minimal Star Mass: $approx 0.075 M_{odot}$

This implies Jupiter would have to be roughly 70 to 80 occasions extra large than it’s at this time to transition from a planet right into a Crimson Dwarf star. Even when it have been 13 occasions extra large, it will solely develop into a Brown Dwarf—a “sub-stellar” object that may fuse deuterium however not extraordinary hydrogen.

May We “Add” Sufficient Mass?

A well-liked follow-up query is whether or not we may mix different planets to assist Jupiter attain this threshold. Sadly, even that wouldn’t work. In case you crashed each different planet in our photo voltaic system (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and all of the rocky planets) into Jupiter, its mass would solely enhance by a tiny fraction. It might nonetheless be nowhere close to the 80x requirement.

What Would Occur if We Dropped a Nuke?

If we have been to detonate a large hydrogen bomb in Jupiter’s environment, the end result could be visually spectacular however cosmically insignificant.

1. The Explosion: You’ll see a vibrant flash and a brief “bruise” within the cloud layers (much like the impression of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994).
2. The Aftermath: Jupiter’s large gravity and atmospheric strain would shortly take in the power. With out the large gravitational strain to maintain a fusion response, the “hearth” would merely exit.

Ultimate Ideas

Jupiter is an impressive world that acts as a gravitational protect for Earth, however it isn’t a “star-in-waiting.” It lacks the elemental requirement for stardom: excessive mass. For now, and for the foreseeable future, Jupiter will stay a gasoline large, safely orbiting our one and solely Solar.

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