Jupiter...the failed star
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Without Jupiter we probably wouldn’t be here, so it’s been very valuable.
Why is that? It’s gravity has prevented the Sun from pulling us (along w/Merc, Ven, Mars) into it?
If that’s what you mean, I never thought about that but it makes sense.
Very true. I wonder how many comet/asteroid hits J has taken in our name?
I don’t buy the Jupiter as the savior of earth from objects from the Kuiper belt and Ort cloud.
And object barreling in from outside and being affected by Jupiter could just as easily be directed TOWARDS earth by the gravitational affects of the gas giant than away from it.
Earth travels it’s one year orbit around the sun and can be directly opposite the sun from Jupiter. Directly between the sun and Jupiter .......or any combination that the orbits of Earth and Jupiter can scribe. Also There are huge areas of space that are not affected by Jupiter’s gravitational field.
Perhaps the Chixalub object was traveling on a nice safe course through the solar system and back out when Jupiter yanked on it enough to direct it towards the earth
I know that Jupiter as earth’s savior is considered sacrosanct in the astronomical community, if you look at the big picture it just doesn’t hold water