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Time for gas planets to grow

Nature volume 409, pages 23–24 (2001)Cite this article

Giant planets like Jupiter need a large reservoir of gas to grow to full size. New observations indicate that such planetary nurseries last twice as long as previously thought.

Until now, astronomers have believed that giant gas planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn, must form in a few million years or less — quite fast in astronomical terms. On page 60of this issue, however, Thi et al.1 report evidence to the contrary. They have detected substantial amounts of molecular hydrogen (H2) gas around three youngish nearby stars in spectroscopic measurements taken by the Infrared Space Observatory spacecraft.

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Figure 1: Three models of the growth of Jupiter, calculated as in ref. 10.

O. HUBICKYJ

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  1. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, 94035, USA

    Jack J. Lissauer

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  1. Jack J. Lissauer
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Correspondence to Jack J. Lissauer.

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Lissauer, J. Time for gas planets to grow. Nature 409, 23–24 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35051182

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