At the Planetary Society Emily Lakdawalla asks, does Jupiter have a "super-Earth" at its center?
The results of a new computer model developed by Burkhard Militzer and four coauthors suggest that deep inside the solar system's largest planet sits an inner rock-and-metal core the mass of 14 to 18 Earths, surrounded by an envelope of ices of methane, ammonia, and water, surrounded by an atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium containing few ices. Essentially, the model says that Jupiter = Neptune with a whole lot of hydrogen and helium around it.
As she points out, the issue could be really important to understanding how planetary formation begins. If Militzer is right, we can't be sure about we know of recently discovered gas giants elsewhere in the Milky Way.
Wayne
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