What would it take for Jupiter to ignite in to a sun or maybe it's unknown.?

Answer 1

The standard figure is at least 80 times it's own mass. They sometimes call jupiter the failed star.

Answer 2

Jupiter is a gas giant. However, it does not have a sufficient amount of oxygen to undergo rapid combustion. The sun, however, is powered by nuclear fussion -- a chain reaction caused by pressure and large amounts of heat. Therefore, Jupiter can ignite under very high temperatures and pressure, but the ignition will not sustain.

Answer 3

If Jupiter had formed with about 80% more mass the solar system would have two suns..! Of course if the aliens in Arthur C. Clarke's "2010: Odyssey Two" should show up that's what we'd get : )

Answer 4

The first answer is correct. It would need much more mass. In other words, the only reason it doesn't self ignite is that it is too small. And even if we ignited it artificially, by setting off a nuclear bomb in the core (impossible to do in practice, but IF), then it would just fizzle and sputter out because it is too small for its gravity to maintain the pressure required in the core to keep the reaction going.

Answer 5

A lot more mass, and likely that mass would have to be hydrogen. Jupiter is pretty 'dirty' - in that, for fusion to start, you need to put a LOT of heat & pressure on what you're going to fuse, and with Jupiter, there are a lot of heavier elements than hydrogen in it's mass - they're going to be drawn to the center of gravity and push the lighter hydrogen out of it's way. So, for Jupiter to initialize fusion - it would have to be a LOT of extra hydrogen, and fusion would have to start somewhere out from it's core.

Answer 6

Oh, we know. Jupiter would have to be 13 times more massive than it is. So it's not going to happen.

Answer 7

You figure out the answer to that question, and you have a career as an astronomer or physicist ahead of you.