Jupiter Became Enormous By Swallowing Smaller Planets, Researchers Suggest

Don’t expect Jupiter to start devouring the rest of the floating masses in its vicinity any time soon, though. According to NASA the planet settled down roughly four billion years ago, where it’s been sticking to its orbit ever since.

Jupiter is also over 390 million miles away from Earth, so even if it did start pulling more material into itself (which it won’t) we’re a pretty safe distance away. If any body had something to worry about, it would be the 53 confirmed, or plus 26 provisional, moons currently orbiting the massive gas ball (via NASA).

Really though, what this has lead reserchers to believe is that we need to pay more attention to how we estimate and measure the interior giant planets like Jupiter. Also bear in mind that this explanation for Jupiter’s growth is still currently a theory, and as such it could be further bolstered or disproven as additional research is performed and more data is collected.