3 ms·
Where does that infrared heat orginate? Fission?
by Pica_soO 10y ago
Where does that infrared heat orginate? Fission?
- GunboatDiplomat 10y agoProbably a combination of radioactive decay and gravitational collapse.
- Pica_soO 10y agoProbably another dumb question, if you would pump heat into this, and increase the isolation factor - could you produce a brown dwarf?
- nikdaheratik 10y agoThe lower theoretical threshold for a brown dwarf star, which fuses deuterium->lithium, is 13 times the mass of Jupiter. There isn't enough mass for fusion to occur on its own no matter how energetic the particles are.
- Pica_soO 10y agoThanks.
- nikdaheratik 10y agoThere are several sources of heat on Jupiter but the one being studied by this mission is the result of the very large magnetic field around Jupiter's generating auroras that are several times larger than the diameter of Earth. [edit] Original statement wasn't completely accurate, as it does study the auroras, but they are generated by the planet itself. The solar wind doesn't reach the atmosphere of Jupiter.