Is Jupiter A Failed Star? And What Would Happen If It Really Became One?

Not infrequently, especially on the Web, one still finds astronomy articles claiming that the planet Jupiter should be considered a "failed star," that is, a celestial body whose mass "almost" allowed it to trigger nuclear fusion reactions, but failed to do so.
What is true about this statement?
Let's go find out together!
In all likelihood, this is a belief born in the late 1970s, when it was discovered that Jupiter radiates about one and a half times the amount of heat it receives from the Sun into space. This may have led to the suggestion that at one time the planet may have produced heat by nuclear fusion; heat that would then have been partially conserved by thermal inertia.
But if this were indeed the case, how is it that Saturn, which has a mass more than three times less than that of Jupiter, emits as much as two and a half times the heat it receives from the Sun?
Indeed, it is impossible that a celestial body with a certain mass emits more heat than another with a higher mass.
And in fact, the explanation for the phenomenon is another. Jupiter's internal structure consists of several layers: below the gaseous atmosphere, we find a layer of liquid hydrogen and helium, one of metallic hydrogen, and a solid core whose composition is still uncertain. In the first layer, helium, being heavier, tends to descend, pushing up hydrogen. This results in a release of gravitational energy, and thus heat.
In the case of Saturn, since it is farther from the Sun and therefore colder, the "stirring" due to thermal motions is less, and therefore the helium sinks more easily. Hence the greater intensity of heat emitted by the planet.
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Credits: Nasa/Shutterstock/Storyblocks/Elon Musk/SpaceX/ESA/ESO/ Flickr

Video Chapters:
00:00 Introductko
04:45 Why Jupiter has remained a planet?
06:28 Is there any chance that this could happen?
09:25 Downsides of increasing Jupiter's mass

#insanecuriosity #jupiter #thesolarsystem

[InsaneCuriosity]

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[bohead]

I had a dream when I was a kid in the 70's that I went into my front yard and could see Jupiter in the sky like 100 times bigger than the moon. It was freaky but everything on earth was still status quo. It was vivid as I still remember it at 54 years old.

[scotth]

7:00 Deuterium is not a lighter isotope of hydrogen, it is in fact a HEAVIER isotope of hydrogen. By far the most common isotope of hydrogen is protium, which is half the mass of deuterium. There is also a third isotope of hydrogen called tritium, but it is very rare in the universe because 1) it decays with a short half-life, and 2) it fuses easily into helium.

[marginbuu]

So Jupiter is like an actor who wanted to make it big in Hollywood but ended up being known for his role in sitcoms instead.

[CVernRock]

I have Universe Sandbox... I sometimes increase Jupiter's mass to make it turn into a red dwarf star. It's interesting to watch how the solar system rearranges itself and everything adjusts to the new star and its gravitational influence on our system, including Sol.

[honodle]

It could be argued that had Jupiter acquired enough mass, our system could have been a binary. However, the best estimates I have seen say Jupiter would have needed at least 15x more mass for fusion to happen.

[icewind]

Never thought about the possibility that a brown dwarf actually has a solid surface. Would be pretty interesting to have a Sci-Fi race based off of a brown dwarfs surface far in the future when it's cooled down enough

[benhickerson]

In 2010 space odyssey I'm pretty sure Jupiter's mass was not increased, rather it compressed the planet, increasing its density only to start fusion not adding mass.
In the book the new tiny star had only minor effects on earth, but the joviean system of course became much warmer.

[jswilson]

At around 7:05 you said deuterium it's lighter than regular hydrogen when it's actually heavier. I'm sure everyone knew what you meant though. Keep it up!

[georgedunn]

Also, Saturn is almost twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter (9.5 AU to 5.2) so it GETS only around one-quarter of the solar heating as its larger neighbor, so it's easier to surpass that. Remember, it's not a matter of more radiated energy than Jupiter, mere more IN COMPARISON to the amount it receives.

[mattymatty]

Jupiter... You aren't a failure. We love you just as you are (yes even your spots too)

[kingofflames]

A failed star would imply a Brown Dwarf. Quite literally an object that failed to achieve fusion.

[fubaralakbar]

Jupiter's application for starhood was denied, because it had bad credit.

[nzcyclone]

You put a lot of work into this video and it is appreciated. However, it was spoiled by the music being too loud in a lot of places and drowning out what you were saying. By all means have background music or sound effects. But, they should be just that, in the background not overpowering everything else. As far as Jupiter goes it was never going to become a star, its mass is way too low and with its mass being what it is. It could never become a star. When comes to stars, mass is everything size is nothing.

[fidebagwell]

After having seen the 2010 film and wondering what the consequences of Jupiter becoming a star would be, I'm glad this video addressed it.

[jamesmit]

Deuterium got one more neutron than hydrogen so its a 'heaviler' isotope of hydrogen. Not lighter.

[thjones]

When I read the Second Odyssey book, my understanding wasn't that Jupiter's mass wasn't increased, just its density – that the fleet of monoliths compacted Jupiter until it ignited.

[nagone]

The movie 2010 told us about Jupiter becoming a star..but I don't think we've encountered any black monoliths yet?..

[gregbors]

I don’t care what you say - Jupiter will always be a star in our hearts 💕

[MC-gjfg]

The more you squeeze enough matter together the more you can technically call anything a failed something. My taco is a failed black hole. Were only it composed of just a wee bit more matter...