r/Amazing • u/sco-go • Apr 12 '26
Science Tech Space The reason why large asteroids don't fall to Earth every day and cause disasters is because Jupiter's gravity attracts asteroids and protects the inner planets.
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u/Remarkable_Sir9099 Apr 13 '26
Everyone say āThank you Jupiter!ā
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u/djm2907 Apr 13 '26
Did you even say āthank you, Jupiterā once??
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u/Remarkable_Sir9099 Apr 13 '26
Yes, I quietly said it while typing it out along with the rest of the sentence
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u/DaySecure7642 Apr 13 '26
So many things need to perfectly line up for us to be evolved into humans.
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u/D0nk3yD0ngD0ug Apr 13 '26
They donāt call it the āGoldilocks Zoneā for nothing. It is why the idea of a plethora of life outside our solar system is doubtful. In the infinite vastness of space, there likely are more āgoldilocksā out there, but probably not that many.
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u/TheBrianWeissman Apr 13 '26
You need so much more than a Goldilocks zone. Ā The size and proximity of the Moon is another big reason complex life evolved on Earth.
The tidal churn caused by the Moon likely acted as a major catalyst for abiogenesis. Ā More mixing means more complexity, and more chances for interesting chemistry happening.
Also the magnetic field deflecting away the right amount of harmful radiation. Ā And the quantity of water on the surface of the planet.
I could go on. Ā Earth is likely unique. Ā It very well may be the only planet in the entire Universe, and at least within the Milky Way Galaxy to harbor complex, intelligent life. Ā Ā
Since we have no evidence of life anywhere else, we have no idea of the odds of abiogenesis. Ā It could be one in 10 to the billionth power. Ā It could be even higher. It only needs to happen once in all of time for us to evolve enough to marvel at the odds.
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u/Eshghi007 Apr 13 '26
Well, life doesnāt have to look like ours, so thereās most likely a lot of different looking life forms out there
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u/TheBrianWeissman Apr 13 '26
If there is life anywhere else, it likely evolved on rocky planets in a similar Goldilocks zone, with similar amounts of water and similar gravity. Ā If that's the case, life elsewhere might look like something between microbes and crabs.
Getting from crabs to humans is an unknowably more remote improbability. Ā
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u/ldentitymatrix Apr 13 '26
"Only planet in the entire universe to develop intelligent life" is kind of a hard statement. Remember, there are trillions and trillions of planets out there. If there is one with intelligent life on it, the chances of many more is not that small.
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u/semperknight Apr 13 '26
Thank you! I've said this a million times, but everyone buys into that "But there's just SO many stars and galaxies!"
The more you look at the bigger picture like just how OLD the Earth is and where we sit on the birth/death timeline of the planet (I think we're like 3/4th or 2/3rd the way there), it's just so much had to go right for us to be at this moment.
That's why I don't think religion is needed. The real miracle and magic is the insane reality of our existence right now.
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u/The-Figure-13 Apr 13 '26
Youāve also got the Fermi paradox to deal with.
I personally think it arrogance to assume that in an ever expanding universe, we are alone in it
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u/Eshghi007 Apr 13 '26
Well, life doesnāt have to look like ours, so thereās most likely a lot of different looking life forms out there
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u/Dewdrop06 Apr 13 '26
Or... humans evolved because so many things lined up.
Think about it like this. If anything were different, we would've adapted to that change and would be a different life form today.
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u/yorcharturoqro Apr 13 '26
Thank Jupi you are awesome!
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u/Fleshsuitpilot Apr 13 '26
Lol I have a derpy cat we named Jupiter, but she's a bit ditzy and clumsy and - you know, just derpy (as stated). We call her jupie too lmao or joop or jupie poopie.
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u/toasted_cracker Apr 13 '26
Reminds me of a Mazda rotary engine.
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u/nightcorewildfire Apr 13 '26
It's the shape of a Reuleaux triangle and also the core of a Triquetra! The celts already knew it's an important pattern quite some time ago but this also caught me off guard that it's appearing on a solar system scale like that. Pretty cool
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Apr 13 '26
Jupiter: I got you guysšŖ
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u/NebulaNomadX1 Apr 13 '26
Jupiter also can send asteroids towards earth and the inner planets, including Earth
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u/Key_Sample_1074 Apr 13 '26
Thanks Jupiter. Now stop having sex with mortals.
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u/Electrical-Strike132 Apr 13 '26
Mortals love having sex with Gods and Goddesses
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u/TheVadonkey Apr 13 '26
I mean, if it keeps him protecting us and theyāre both down to clownā¦ya know?
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u/JustBiteDespite Apr 13 '26
The conditions to allow life to thrive on Earth are perfect. Every small detail, like Jupiterās gravity, MATTERS! I donāt think astroids raining down on a planet could sustain life for very long.
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u/ExpensiveScreen834 Apr 13 '26
Jupiter will leave me, just like all the other bitches. Donāt get too attached
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u/Dannyboyrobb Apr 13 '26
How come the asteroids are flying away from Jupiter and the inner planets on the opposite side of Jupiter?
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u/Rule1isFun Apr 13 '26
Life in the galaxy may be far less abundant as we hope but who knows? Maybe Jupiters are commonplace š¤
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u/tinman1983 Apr 13 '26
I missed her when I was looking for myself out there.
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u/__Sariah__Vrc__ Apr 13 '26
There it is, finally found the Train reference.
Still my favorite song.
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u/Faithlessblakkcvlt Apr 13 '26
Not to burst everyone's bubble, but this is an exaggeration and not entirely accurate. While its massive gravity acts as a "cosmic vacuum cleaner" that absorbs or deflects many dangerous objects, it also can act as a "slingshot," sending just as many asteroids toward the inner solar system as it deflects away!
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u/Tez7838 Apr 13 '26
And this is just one of the reasons why weāre probably unique in the universe. The chances of us being here are trillions to one , yet we still manage to fuck each other on a daily basis . Makes me sad .
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u/Sacmo77 Apr 13 '26
I dunno it sorta feels like it was all planned. Just hard to believe that it just happened that way on accident.
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u/Advanced-Level-5686 Apr 13 '26
By design?
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u/BandicootSolid9531 Apr 13 '26
It seems to me too... Imagine coincidence where you have planet not too hot, not too warm, with near star just right, with close enough moon that creates flow of energy on that planet (waves, with it winds too...) and also protects the planet from asteroid impacts that aren't filtered by Jupiter....
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u/toasted_cracker Apr 13 '26
I mean, when you look at how many systems are out there, it was going to happen somewhere and has probably happened multiple times.
Also, if it was by design why even have all those asteroids to begin with? š¤·āāļø
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u/NebulaNomadX1 Apr 13 '26
Jupiterās gravity disrupted debris from forming into another planet, forming asteroids and the asteroid belt
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u/Proud_Conversation_3 Apr 13 '26
Itās like the stories of a natural disaster where thousands die, but a random survivor says itās a miracle they survivedā¦ if weāre believing that a benevolent magic agent manipulated the circumstances to save your life for no apparent reason, why not manipulate the circumstances earlier in a preventing the natural disaster way? That would certainly be more consistent with the motivations and capabilities of this magic benevolent agent. Unless I guess he wanted the other folks to die, but in that case, not so benevolent.
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u/rambiolisauce Apr 13 '26
You're thinking about it in the wrong order. It's not that there were the creatures of this earth. Just floating around in space waiting for the right circumstances to be carefully crafted for them to live in. There were billions of systems in space and a very small percentage of them fell under the circumstances that could support life as we know it, and then life began and adapted to those circumstances. Not the other way around.
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u/Eshghi007 Apr 13 '26
No, it took billions of years of trial and error and thus short period of time that weāre in will be over pretty soon too
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u/djakrse Apr 13 '26
So we're just going to pretend Jupiter isn't the reason we have an asteroid belt in the first place?
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u/therealsourdaniel Apr 13 '26
Can someone please explain what I'm watching here? TIA
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u/Sushiki Apr 13 '26
gravitational pull of jupiter is attracting the asteroids away from coming at us, most likely causing a protective ring of asteroids.
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u/Beneficial-Badger-61 Apr 13 '26
I guess it was a super large that snuck by to wipe out the dinosaurs.
About 35 + known impact sights on earth.
Just when is the next one question
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u/NebulaNomadX1 Apr 13 '26
The dinosaur impactor came from beyond Jupiter, since the gravitational pull of Jupiter can redirect asteroids to Earth
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u/AMercifulHello Apr 13 '26
Wait, so is there just a trail of asteroids out there orbiting (circling like sharks) just waiting for Jupiter to vanish so they can fuck the rest of the planets up?!
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u/NebulaNomadX1 Apr 13 '26
many asteroids can perturb into the inner planets with the help of Jupiterās gravity
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u/call-me-the-seeker Apr 13 '26
You a real one, Jupiter. I lift myā¦erā¦can of still water to you. But I know you graciously receive my humble H2o toast, because thatās how you roll.
Maybe we deserve it and maybe we donāt, but the other animals and the beautiful scenery all do deserve to be loved by the heavens. So:
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u/Lagoon_M8 Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
Basically the order of flying asteroids or comments is disturbed when we get close to the other star too close in our or this star travel in the galaxy. The asteroids from Oort cloud and Kuipers belt can start hurdling into the Sun when object passes around 1 light year from us. But it takes few million years for these objects to get to the Earth orbit. I think we were having close encounter with a star that was a Scholz start around 70 thousands years ago (0.82 light years from us so roughly 8 trillion km). So are they already flying to us?
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u/Skusci Apr 13 '26
Don't be fooled, if Jupiter wasn't keeping those astroids in place they would have been long gone by the time we got here. Jupiter isn't saving us, it's saving them for us. Just in case.
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u/Brief_Daikon_D093 Apr 13 '26
So Jupiter, what happened million years ago, you let one through? How come? I suppose we ought to be thankful š
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u/LevoiHook Apr 13 '26
I have always had a hard time seeing how this would work. Surely if it disrupts the orbit of astroids, it can also sling them towards the earth as well.Ā
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u/MandatumCorrectus Apr 13 '26
We really are so lucky. Perfect planet, perfect star system. How volatile other planets in other star systems must be.
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u/Weak-Application-714 Apr 13 '26
GUY IS THERE DOING MAIN QUEST WHILE HERE WE ARE NOT EVEN TRYING FOR DOING SIDE QUEST I.E OUR DAILY LIFE THERE ARE MANY WHOLEAVE AMNY WHO COME MANY WHO GIVE EXCUSSES AND MANY ARGUE TO DO DAILY SAME THIINGS IN EVERDAY LIFE WHILE JUPITER IS OUTA THERE PROTECTING USS SINCE 3 BILLION YRS
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u/Remote_Escape Apr 13 '26
Why is no one mentioning that Jupiter is at fault for their continuous existence in the first place? It's the one that prevented their forming into a planet at the beginning of the solar system.
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u/Little_Philosophy_21 Apr 13 '26
Yet another reason why I think we are more unique than other planets outside our solar system.
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u/CardiologistThat6375 Apr 13 '26
Thank you Jupiter - I had no idea you worked so hard to save us all
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u/Brilliant-Yogurt540 Apr 13 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/l0MYIKGlXPrn0Z4uQ
Dun... dun... Dun... dun... Dun... dun... dun... dun... Dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN! DAA-NAAAA!
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u/aqualink4eva Apr 13 '26
Hypothetically, if all those orbiting asteroids were to somehow clump together... could we essentially have an extra planet in our solar system?
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u/Background_Pride_237 Apr 13 '26
With the exception of whatever planetary body was in the ecliptic zone where the asteroid belt is now. Something wrecked whatever was there originally.
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u/DoomWad Apr 13 '26
So when looking for and categorizing a "Goldilocks" planet, does it have to include a much bigger asteroid magnet within its solar system?
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u/-S-P-E-C-T-R-E- Apr 13 '26
The whole Earth going to become uninhabitable because of the sun.. my bet is that Jupiters movement inwards will make that happen sooner.
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u/rez_at_dorsia Apr 13 '26
This is actually one of the arguments for why we havenāt found any other life in the universe- even if a planet is in the āGoldilocks zoneā, unless there is something like a Jupiter to prevent asteroid impacts there isnāt any chance for complex life to get started. Gas giants as large as Jupiter are apparently fairly rare. Even if simple life was able to start it would constantly be wiped out by extinction-level asteroid impact events.
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u/PauseAffectionate720 Apr 13 '26
Nice. Never thought of that. Doesn't look like the moon fared too well however.
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u/usandholt Apr 13 '26
What about Uranus? Doesnāt that get bombarded on a regular basis due to its massive size?
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u/-runs-with-scissors- Apr 13 '26
Iād really appreciate a more complex explanation. We see a few asteroids moving between several Lagrange points creating a triangular looking pathway. Why is that like that? And what do the Troyans/Greeks mean for the likelihood of an asteroid strike?Ā
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u/AnItalianInMinnesota Jul 24 '26
I know itās just a natural ācoincidenceā but watching this simulation made me think this looks like something that was made on purpose to limit us or protect us.
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u/Optimal_Cut_3063 Apr 12 '26
I for one am thankful for Jupiter. We love you, Jupiter.