Rethinking Jupiter

Astrobio.net ^ | Monday, November 12, 2007 | Lee Pullen

[SunkenCiv]

Without Jupiter acting as a "cosmic vacuum cleaner" sucking up these dangerous objects, there would be so many catastrophic impacts that life probably wouldn't have evolved on the Earth and we wouldn't be here today... "This vacuum cleaner idea goes back to when the long-period comets coming in from the Oort Cloud were viewed as being the only significant impact risk," says Horner. "In the 1950s there were only one or two near-Earth asteroids known, so they were viewed as oddities." ...Since the 1950s, scientists have discovered more objects in the solar system, and they say many of them could collide with us.

[roaddog727]

Foot-fall - Another one of my favorite’s rom Niven and Steve Barnes.

[SunkenCiv]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_(magazine)

“Along with an essay by Gold, Galaxy’s premiere issue introduced a book review column by celebrated anthologist Groff Conklin (which ran until 1955) and a Willy Ley science column that continued until his death in 1969.”

[Bernard Marx]

Ley was a fascinating man and was very influential in my early "education." I absolutely adored his Galaxy articles on cryptozoology and his space flight articles were inspirational. Willy Ley

[burzum]

While Jupiter’s gravity could very well deflect or otherwise modify the trajectory of these Near Earth Objects, thus preventing their impact on Earth, could it not also deflect an otherwise benign object directly into our path?

It is difficult for Jupiter to do that. It is hard for Jupiter to scatter an object into an orbit that crosses ours without also kicking it out of the Solar System.