The hidden character of Jupiter in question

2007/08/27 Rementeria Argote, Nagore - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Softwarea
• Astrofisika
• Astronomia

For a decade, it has been recognized that Jupiter protects the Earth from asteroids, acting in some way as a shield by moving away the asteroids that surround it from the solar system, preventing them from further inland. But after performing simulations on the computer, they discover that Jupiter does not protect the Earth, moreover, they see that it has an opposite effect.

The simulation was carried out at the UK Open University. They have simulated several situations: the solar system with Jupiter, without Jupiter, and the substitution of Jupiter by gaseous giants of several masses, one by one, with planets of different mass but similar to Jupiter. In this system up to one hundred thousand bodies of the Kuiper belt have been placed. And they have seen what happened with time in each model (virtually, ten million years have passed in each model). Well, according to these simulations, the risk of a Kuiper belt object hitting Earth is 30% higher than that of Jupiter without it.

The simulation has yielded sufficient illustrative data to question the hidden character of Jupiter. However, it must be taken into account and so have the experts highlighted, that these models do not contemplate all the objects of the Solar System, so the result should not be taken literally.

Photo: ANDÉN