The craziest way Jupiter could become a star

Jupiter would become a star if it were about 70 times more massive than it is now. It would be a smaller and less luminous star than the Sun, as well as being further away from the Earth. Much of the light emitted would be in the invisible infrared, and it’s arguable whether it could even be seen at all from our planet.

Jupiter and its moons would not exactly become a miniature solar system, since the satellites would remain in synchronous orbit with it. The moons furthest from the planet would, however, become interesting options for colonization in their twilight zone.

It is obviously impossible to increase Jupiter’s mass by 70 times. An option that a more advanced civilization could perhaps undertake to make it star-like would instead be the following.

If it were possible with a tungsten shell to coat the entire planet and compress it, due to the gravitational potential energy and pressure converted into heat, the tungsten would begin to glow without melting. Jupiter would turn into a crazy planet-sized light bulb!

As bizarre as it may sound, the idea is technically correct. However, over time the heat would be dissipated, unless the giant tungsten shell kept slowly compressing the planet to compensate.

Incidentally, as the gas giant gets squeezed, it is possible that nuclear fusion may begin to occur within it, which should be avoided to prevent temperatures from rising so high that the tungsten starts to melt instead of just glowing.