1. it gives off more heat that the sun provides
2. it's mostly gas (if not all)
(move over Pluto)
2006-09-23 04:06:59 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
also, it's composition is almost identical to the Sun's (hydrogen and Helium - in a similar ratio)
2006-09-23 04:10:22 · update #1
Hasn't anyone seen 2010 (the movie) ?
2006-09-23 08:20:35 · update #2
well,some people think that Jupiter could be a brown dwarf,or failed star(a star that didn't have enough energy to start the hydrogen burning cycle).However,there isn't a clear boundary between brown dwarfs and gas planets.Currently, objects 12 Jupiter masses,which is heavy enough to fuse deuterium,it is considered a brown dwarf.
2006-09-23 05:42:38 · answer #1 · answered by That one guy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The lower limit on a brown dwarf star is about 12 times the mass of Jupiter. Jupiter is too small therefore to have ever started deuterium fusion in its core and is therefore (by the latest IAU definitions) a planet.
2006-09-23 04:29:37 · answer #2 · answered by Turquoise 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're right, it does give more heat than it recieves.... but it's just not massive enough to reach the point at it's core where the thermonuclear reaction takes over and produces the heat and light of a star.
Planets similar to Jupiter in ther makeup (but larger) are sometimes called 'brown dwarfs' when they produce significant energy without reaching this reaction point.
A Dead star? No... but a failed star, maybe.
2006-09-23 04:13:48 · answer #3 · answered by Xraydelta1 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, it is just a very hot and weird planet. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are also gas planets so if you were going to think Jupiter it a dead star then you would also have to say these were also dead stars. Also Neptune is a very cold planet just like Jupiter is a very hot planet.
2006-09-23 04:57:39 · answer #4 · answered by robert o 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not a "dead" star, but some people have called Jupiter a "failed" star -- it's just not quite big enough to become a star. Actually, Jupiter would have needed about 80% more mass to become a star.
2006-09-23 04:11:39 · answer #5 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nope..
No well informed person considers Jupiter a dead star...
2006-09-23 04:15:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually Jupiter is in that nebulous catagory of "Not quite a star but more than a planet". I have proposed a new catagory for Jupiter, "dwarf star".
2006-09-23 04:12:20 · answer #7 · answered by Amphibolite 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
NO IT CANT BE BECAUSE DEAD STARS BLOW UP
2006-09-23 08:16:22 · answer #8 · answered by Luda K 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋