Currie's team says the window of opportunity for stars to form Jupiter-class worlds is even smaller, less than five million years. "Whatever process is responsible for forming Jupiters has to be incredibly efficient," Currie said. Scientists have two leading theories for how planets like Jupiter form: by building up a solid core which gases then accrete on to or from gases that collapse in on themselves due to gravitational forces. If the second theory is correct, Jupiter-sized worlds could form in just thousands to tens of thousands of years, said University of Washington astrophysicist Thomas Quinn, who has done computer modeling of planetary formation. "There's still an ongoing debate about exactly what the time scale would be," he said. Related Links: |
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