New Durham University study counters idea that Jupiter’s mysterious core was formed by a giant impact
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 6-Nov-2025 22:11 ET (7-Nov-2025 03:11 GMT/UTC)
A new Durham University study has found that a giant impact may not be responsible for the formation of Jupiter's remarkable ‘dilute’ core, challenging a theory about the planet's history.
The mystery at Jupiter's heart has taken a fresh twist – as new research suggests a giant impact may not have been responsible for the formation of its core. It had been thought that a colossal collision with an early planet containing half of Jupiter's core material could have mixed up the central region of the gas giant, enough to explain its interior today. But a new study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests its make-up is actually down to how the growing planet absorbed heavy and light materials as it formed and evolved.
Newly detected fast radio burst (FRB) is one of the brightest ever observed. Astronomers used the CHIME telescope array to triangulate the burst’s location. FRB traced to the outskirts of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy using powerful optical telescopes. Location is accurate within just 42 light years, the most precise localization yet for a non-repeating FRB.
Astronomers detected the brightest fast radio burst ever seen. The dazzling “RBFLOAT” radio burst, originating nearby in the Ursa Major constellation, offers the clearest view yet of the environment around these mysterious flashes.