Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, but did you know it nearly became a star? ⭐️ Astrophysicist Erika Hamden explains that while Jupiter is massive, it would need to be about 80 times more massive to initiate nuclear fusion and become even a small star. This threshold is why Jupiter never ignited. Had it gained enough mass, the Sun might have shared our solar system with a second star, potentially disrupting the protoplanetary disk that formed Earth. That gravitational presence co