Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, was 2 to 2.5 times bigger in its earlier life, according to new research. Jupiter, the largest planet orbiting the sun, used to be much bigger and ...

Illustration comparing the planets of the Solar System and the Sun on the same scale. The planets are shown to scale relative to each other but their distances are not. From left to right the bodies ...

The shocking findings were part of a recent study in which astronomers effectively peered back in time to discover what Jupiter was like in its early years. Jupiter is not only the largest in the ...

About 5 billion years ago, as the Sun forms, most planets around it are still dust. But Jupiter's core already begins to grow. National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies.

Simulations reveal that Jupiter’s rapid growth disrupted the early solar system, creating rings where new planetesimals formed much later than expected. These late-forming bodies match the ages and ...

Jupiter, the largest planet orbiting the sun, used to be much bigger and stronger when the solar system was just beginning to take shape, a pair of astronomers say. Two scientists at Caltech and the ...