Jupiter Could Make Earth Hospitable, Scientists Say

Researchers discovered that the gas giant, which has only existed for a million years in our solar system, spent no time developing into a dominant, gigantic planet. Earth probably wouldn't have developed tens of millions of years after Jupiter fused without the giant planet's influence.

According to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the meteorites strewn over Earth are proof of Jupiter's early origin. As the chaotic, young solar system was coming together, the two different types of these space rocks, which also formed early, were held apart by an immense force due to their dissimilar compositions. Scientists believe Jupiter to be the most likely offender.

Jupiter Makes Earth More Habitable, Researchers Say

Future motions of Jupiter may impact Earth's tilt, drastically reducing its habitability.

Although an estimated 8.7 million species are on Earth, large portions of its polar regions are sparsely populated.

"If Jupiter's position remained the same, but the shape of its orbit changed, it could increase this planet's habitability," said UCR Earth and planetary scientist and study lead author Pam Vervoort (via Forbes).

This is one possible scenario. The Earth's route around the Sun is somewhat (but only slightly) elliptical. If it altered its orbit, the earth might be propelled into a more stretched elliptical orbit by Jupiter's gravitational pull.

Earth would then occasionally approach the Sun closer than it does now, warming up the polar areas and making them more livable.

(Photo: Lynette Cook/NASA/Getty Images)
IN SPACE - JUNE 13: This artist's conceptual drawing, released June 13, 2002, depicts a Jupiter-mass planet orbiting the star 55 Cancri, about 41 light-years from Earth. A possible moon around the planet is shown because such moons are thought to be common around this type of planet, but no moon has been detected.

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Many people are convinced that Earth is the model for a livable planet and that any alteration in its orbit must be detrimental to Earth because Jupiter is such a large planet.

However, the same study discovered that when Jupiter got closer to the Sun, Earth would tilt more, which would cause significant portions of its surface to drop below freezing.

"We show that both assumptions are wrong," said Vervoort.

Study to Evaluate Potential Habitability of Exoplanets

The researchers claimed that these findings might be used to evaluate the potential habitability of any multi-planet systems anyone comes across.

But they also show how many different things may have affected our existence on this tiny blue dot and possibly even how close we never existed. And what would occur to the Solar System should it ever become unstable?

Astrophysicist Stephen Kane of the University of California - Riverside said that a planet's surface water content is a fundamental initial statistic that does not consider a planet's orbital geometry or potential seasonal fluctuations.

He said it is essential to understand how Jupiter has affected Earth's climate over time, how its influence on the home planet's orbit has altered in the past, and how it may do so again.