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At the moment, the Earth is the only planet known to scientists that is habitable. According to 2020 data, the average global temperature in the world is about 14.9 degrees Celsius. Of course, in some periods there is 40-degree heat and 50-degree frosts, but, in general, it is comfortable to live on our planet. At the same time, scientists believe that our planet can be even better, and we are not talking about preventing global warming, improving the forecasting of natural disasters and cleaning the air and soil from harmful pollution. Recently, scientists have come to the conclusion that the climate on Earth could be improved by making some changes to the properties of Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun. What kind of changes are we talking about and is humanity capable of this?
Everything in the universe is interconnected
Everything in the universe is interconnected, including our solar system. Over the course of billions of years, the planets have changed their location and at the moment the Earth is the third farthest from the Sun. Jupiter, the system’s largest planet, is the fifth largest. Each planet is spinning in its orbit and it is different for everyone – for some it has an oval shape, while for others it is almost perfectly round. Scientists are sure that if at least one planet changed the route of its movement a little, it would greatly affect the climate in other worlds.
Orbits of the planets in the solar system
Jupiter’s influence on the earth
Jupiter can have the biggest impact because it is very large. At the moment, it is located at a distance of 5.2 astronomical units from the Sun – five times farther than the Earth. Jupiter’s orbit is almost perfectly round, just like our planet’s. This shape of the orbit provides stability: if the Earth’s orbit were elongated, extreme heat would be abruptly replaced by severe frosts and vice versa. And the round orbit makes it so that the seasons change smoothly and all living creatures have time to get used to the new conditions.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system
According to scientists, we owe a lot to Jupiter for the comfortable climate on Earth. Computer modeling showed that if a huge planet moved along an elongated route, it would attract the Earth to itself – the orbit of our planet would become elongated and all living creatures would die out.
To be more precise, scientists recently looked at 160,000 options for how Jupiter would behave differently. If the planet retained its circular orbit, but became closer to the Sun by 3 astronomical units (instead of 5, as it is now), the Earth’s axis could tilt by as much as 70 degrees. This would lead to the fact that every summer on our planet the glaciers would completely thaw and floods would occur, and in winter everything would quickly freeze. At the moment, 85% of the earth’s surface is considered habitable, but in the new conditions this figure would drop to 37%. In short, people’s lives would be much more complicated.
Changing Jupiter’s orbit could turn planet Earth into hell
However, in one scenario, Jupiter could turn the Earth into a true paradise where everyone is happy. Computer simulations have shown that if the huge planet approaches the Sun by 4.65 astronomical units, and the orbit becomes 10 times more elongated, the climate on Earth would become better. Such changes can slightly stretch the orbit of our planet, and set the tilt within 20 degrees. As a result, we would have the following: an increase in the average air temperature, thawing of glaciers, the transformation of Antarctica into a flourishing continent that can accommodate millions of people.
At the same time, changes in Jupiter could turn Earth into a heavenly place.
However, it all sounds like another global warming. Therefore, it would be better if such changes occurred billions of years ago, after the emergence of life. In this case, the planet Earth could look completely different.
What is humanity capable of?
Is humanity capable of changing the orbits of other planets? At this stage of development, of course not. At the moment, we are only trying to learn how to change the trajectories of dangerous asteroids, but the impact on entire planets is out of the question. For billions of years, the planets have been changing their orbits, but no innovations are predicted in the near future – cardinal changes may occur millions of years after the death of mankind. For example, when the Sun expands so much that it destroys the Earth.
Scientists are trying to change the trajectories of asteroids, but the planets are still far away
Finally, it is worth recalling that recently the James Webb telescope shared new photographs of the gas giant.
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