Can a Planet Turn into a Star through Gas Accumulation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JV
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Planet Star
AI Thread Summary
A planet could theoretically become a star by accumulating enough gas, specifically hydrogen, to reach the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. The minimum mass required for spontaneous fusion is approximately 10^28 kg, which is around 20 times the mass of Jupiter. If a planet collects sufficient hydrogen and achieves the necessary temperature and pressure, fusion could ignite in its core. This process hinges on both mass and composition, as a hydrogen-rich environment is essential. Ultimately, while the concept is intriguing, the practicalities of such a transformation are complex and unlikely.
JV
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
Would it be possible for a planet by collecting gas to become a star. I mean if it were to collect enough hydrogen, the temperature and the pressure at the surface of the planet could get high enough to start fusion ?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
The minimum mass required for spontaneous fusion is about 10^28 Kg [around 20x the mass of Jupiter]. Assuming the composition is amenable to fusion [lots of hydrogen], the core would ignite once the former planet accumulated the necessary mass.
 
This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
Asteroid, Data - 1.2% risk of an impact on December 22, 2032. The estimated diameter is 55 m and an impact would likely release an energy of 8 megatons of TNT equivalent, although these numbers have a large uncertainty - it could also be 1 or 100 megatons. Currently the object has level 3 on the Torino scale, the second-highest ever (after Apophis) and only the third object to exceed level 1. Most likely it will miss, and if it hits then most likely it'll hit an ocean and be harmless, but...
Back
Top