What if Jupiter Shrank to Mercury's Size?
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Question by @Blotboii1122 — thank you!
Gravity depends on mass, so a shrunken Jupiter with all of its mass (about 1.9 million billion billion kilograms, 318 times Earth's) would pull on faraway objects just as hard as it does now. Squeezed to Mercury's radius of about 2,440 kilometers, its surface would be much closer to its center, so surface gravity would jump to roughly 2,000 times Earth's, and a teaspoon of it would weigh about 150 kilograms on average. The Sun is still about 1,000 times more massive than Jupiter, so Jupiter would simply orbit it like Mercury does, once every 88 days.
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Transcript
- Sef Blot Boy 1122 asks: What if Jupiter shrank to Mercury's size, kept its mass, and took Mercury's orbit?
- Sef Easy! Tiny Jupiter, tiny gravity!
- Tiggy Nope. Same mass means same pull.
- Tiggy But up close, its gravity would crush you.
- Tiggy A teaspoon would weigh about 150 kilograms.
- Sef Whoa! Then it swallows the Sun!
- Tiggy Silly. The Sun wins. Jupiter just circles it every 88 days.
Sources
- NASA NSSDC: Jupiter Fact Sheet nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
- NASA NSSDC: Mercury Fact Sheet nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
- NASA Space Place: What Is a Barycenter? spaceplace.nasa.gov
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