Jupiter's Rocky Core Bigger And Icier, According To New Simulation

Thursday, November 27, 2008 - 13:35 in Astronomy & Space

When Jupiter formed 4.5 billion years ago, rocks and ice combined to form a rocky core 14-18 times the mass of the Earth, according to a new simulation by UC Berkeley geophysicist Burkhard Militzer. This is twice what previous models predicted. Militzer employed a simulation technique designed to model the properties of semiconductors and now used for nanomaterials. This simulation also predicts few ices throughout the rest of the atmosphere.

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