Researchers running a computer simulation of the behavior of hydrogen and helium in the core of Jupiter have come up with a model of the internal structure of the planet that is quite different from previous theories.
The simulation suggests Jupiter has a core similar to Earth's, consisting of rock and metals, 14 to 18 times the mass of Earth. That would mean the core has about 5 percent of Jupiter's mass. The simulation also suggests the core is surrounded by a layer of water ice. That model would make Jupiter similar in structure to Neptune and Uranus.
Previous theories have assumed Jupiter had a relatively small core-- or no core at all. Some even treated Jupiter as a failed star. If this model is proven correct, Jupiter, with its rocky, metallic core that aggregated through a process of collision, is decidedly not a star, failed or otherwise, but a planet in line with current theories of planetary formation.
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I have read the theories of no core, but I always did think there must be; even if only Lunar in size. I can't see a ball of gas maintaining a shape or substance to be a planet. Think the same of Saturn.
In fact I think all planets are gas giants in formation to create a rocky planet, just a supposed theory that is probably wrong
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