How far is Jupiter from becoming a Star (sun)?

Question

Could Jupiter become a sun like it did in the Movie 2010?
What would have to happen for it to transform into a sun how would that effect the solar system?

Then what are the big gas planets? Why can't their composition change like a star can, going from sun to red giant to dwaf to black hole? There's got to be research that shows these types of planets can evolve.

Answer 1

It would have to gain about 75 times its current mass to ignite into a star. If it gained less than 75 but more than 15 times its current mass, it would become a brown dwarf. It would be a full-fledged star, and wouldn't shine in visible light. But it would be large enough to generate some nuclear fusion to radiate in the infrared (about the temperature of a household oven).

If it did gain all that mass quickly enough to become a star, the entire solar system would be affected. Not just by the heat and radiation of a second star, but also the massive gravity would seriously affect the orbits of the asteroids and all the planets except perhaps Mercury (its in a tight grip of the sun's gravity). The most probably effect would be for the closer objects (Mars and the asteroids) to be drawn into Jupiter, either in orbit like a new satellite or into its mass.
The other planets would have their orbits changed, probably into figure 8 orbits around the sun and Jupiter. However, since Earth is so small it would likely be tossed out of the solar system all together.
Pluto may end up with a more circular orbit around both the sun and Jupiter.

Due to the proximity of Jupiter and the sun, we would be in the middle of a binary star system, and there isn't enough data to predict the short-term effects (meaning a billion years or so).
But in about 5 billion years the sun will expand into a red giant, and some of its mass will be captured by Jupiter. Which would shorten Jupiter's life on the main sequence. We could end up in 10 billion years with a white dwarf where the sun is, and a red giant where Jupiter is.

That's far enough in the future for me.

Answer 2

When the solar system was being formed, the emerging star was surrounded by matter which was swirling around it. The more dense matter coalesced into the inner, rocky planets and the gaseous matter settled into the gas giants.

Had Jupiter had a little more mass, it might have been large enough to spark nuclear fusion in its core which would have ignited it and we would have been a twin star system. However, it is very unlikely that we would have been here to ponder the question as the gravity would have been too great for the inner planets to remain for long, if they ever formed at all..

Answer 3

Jupiter would have to be 80 times its mass to have enough pressure at its core to start a nuclear chain reaction.

There are only 2 ways to make Jupiter fuse hydrogen into helium and become a star. One is to add the additional mass necessary to increase the pressure at its center. The second way would be to compress Jupiter to a smaller size and again increase the pressure in the core enough to start nuclear fusion.

The second method was the one shown in the movie "2010." However, they don't explain exactly how they compressed the size of Jupiter. That's what makes it science fiction.

Answer 4

A star, by definition, is powered by nuclear fusion at its core. In order to have the right conditions for nuclear fusion (high temperature and high pressure) the object has to be at least 0.08 times the mass of our Sun, which is the same as 80 times the mass of Jupiter. So there's basically no chance of Jupiter ever becoming a star.

Answer 5

Jupiter is classed to some as a brown dwarf

It wanted to be a star but never made it and never will

most star systems are binary sun types and if it happened in ours we would not be here talking about it

Answer 6

Jupiter would have to be at least 60 times more massive to become a star.

Answer 7

jupiter would have to take on enough mass so that the molecules at the centre begin to fuse together under their own gravity (nuclear fusion). I think its some way off. The sun isnt all that hot at its surface (10,000 kelvin)...Its because its so mind bogglingly big that we feel its heat 93,000,000 miles away.

Answer 8

extremely far. it does not have the proper mass or the energy to start thermo nuclear reactions.

Answer 9

it would not and could not become a sun.

Answer 10

that was just a movie