Jupiter as a Cosmic Vacuum Cleaner

[solidsnake]

I read once that Jupiter's immense gravity acts as a cosmic vacuum cleaner, protecting the Earth from collisions with wayward comets. <br /><br />But how can this be? Jupiter can't be everywhere at once. It seems that most comets would sneak by rather than be stopped by Jupiter .

 

[qso1]

And indeed some do. Jupiter is not able to redirect every comet that comes into the inner solar system but it is thought that it clears out the vast majority of them. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

<font color="yellow">Jupiter is not able to redirect every comet that comes into the inner solar system but it is thought that it clears out the vast majority of them.</font><br /><br />Earth got seeded with just the right amount of icy organic material from the comets Jupiter let through. In the search for ExoPlanetary Life, it takes a long time to spot a Jupiter-type planet in a 12-year orbit.<br /><br />There's a good question: what's the longest orbit of the Exo-Planets discovered so far? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Its theoretically possible to spot a planet in a Jupiter like orbit in as little as a year but it has to be confirmed which usually means waiting for that planet to complete or nearly complete an orbit.<br /><br />There is one that comes to my mind and thats one of three discovered around the star system Upsilon Andromedae, I looked it up on wiki and posted the link for you.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsilon_Andromedae<br /><br />The only way to know its at a Jupiter like distance is to look at its semi major axis of 2.54 au or about 236 million miles from its parent star. Thats only about half Jupiter distance but suggests there are Jupiter like worlds at similar distances. I don't know if this is the furthest one discovered so far but it is far enough to show that there is good potential for more non hot Jupiters.<br /><br />BTW, the 1,290 day (3.5 years) orbital period is another indicator of distance. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

Thanks qso1 <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Or more correctly, <i> cleared </i> out most of them, as I understand it.<br /><br />When there were many planetesmals early in the solar sytem's history, Jove altered the orbits of objects that came near.<br /><br />Their fate was:<br /><br />Being swallowed by Jupiter<br />Having it's orbit changed to either set it on a path toward the sun, or to eject it from the inner solar system.<br />This is what is proposed as the origin of the Oort cloud, since it is unlikely that material was dense enough at that distance from the objects to have formed there. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

Jupiter, the re-Organizer of our solar system. <br /><br />What would have been the fifth planet from the sun is scattered across the asteroid belt. How different would circumstances be for the rise of life on earth if Jupiter were only slightly smaller and farther away? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Or in an eccentric orbit rather than a nearly circular one.<br /><br />Or in a closer orbit.<br /><br />Thank you Jove!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

<font color="yellow">Or more correctly, <i>cleared</i> out most of them, as I understand it.</font>-- one exception being Shoemaker-Levy, the Spectacular Straggler. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

No, actually that fits under scenario 1:<br />"Being swallowed by Jupiter "<br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

oops - I should have said "until recently" <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Sure, and SL9 was most likely not the only one in "recent" history to impact Jupiter.<br /><br />The same phenomena has apparantly occurred on other solar system bodies, though with much lower frequency due to the smaller gravity and cross section.<br /><br />There are IIRC, crater chains on the moon, Mars (?), Phobos or Diemos, etc. where a fragmented impactor hit in a row.<br /><br />Of course on the earh, any evidence of such events is long buried or eroded <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>