If Jupiter changed its orbit, would Earth become more habitable?

Image: Size comparison of Earth and Jupiter

A new study suggests that if Jupiter's orbit were changed, the surface might become more conducive to life than it is now.

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, simulated another possible existence scenario for the solar system and found that when Jupiter's orbit was flatter or more peculiar, the Earth's orbit would also change significantly.

In addition, as the largest planet in the solar system to date, changes in Jupiter's orbit have the potential to improve Earth's habitability.

"If you keep Jupiter's position the same but change the shape of its orbit, that change could indeed improve Earth's habitability," said Pam Wildt, an earth and planetary scientist at the University of California, Riverside, and the lead author of the study. "Many studies have argued that Earth is the poster child for habitable planets, and that any small change in Jupiter's orbit could have adverse effects on Earth. Our results suggest that both of those assumptions are wrong."

When a planet's orbit is more elliptical or more circular, its distance from the star is more stable, while the center of the planet may vary as it moves farther away from the star. The perihelion determines the extent to which the planet is affected by radiation, that is, the distance from the star will affect the climate on the planet's surface.

The research team found that if Jupiter's orbit around the sun becomes more elliptical, the Earth's orbit will also change accordingly. In other words, the Earth's orbit will become more and more elliptical, which means that at certain times, the Earth is closer to the sun.

Under this influence, the temperature of some extremely cold areas on Earth will also rise, reaching the habitable temperature range of 32 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit (0-100 degrees Celsius), thereby increasing the diversity of species on Earth.

The research team believes that their findings will help astronomers determine which planets outside the solar system are habitable.

Because the distance of a planet to its host star and how that distance changes determine the extent to which the planet is affected by radiation, planetary seasons are formed.

Image: A composite image of Jupiter taken by the James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam. The rings of light around Jupiter's poles are the auroras.

Of course, whether a planet is habitable depends on whether it is in the habitable zone of its star (that is, the area around the star where the temperature may be high enough for water to form). However, the results of this study may provide a new perspective for the study of planetary habitability.

"The first step in finding habitable planets is to find the habitable zone, which is the distance from the star to the planet to determine whether water can form on the surface of the planet," said Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Riverside. "The presence of water on the surface of a planet is a very simple first check, and it does not affect the shape of the planet's orbit or the changes in the seasons on the planet."

The team also looked at other factors that could affect a planet's habitability, including its tilt, which affects how much radiation it receives.

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside found that if Jupiter's distance from the sun, which is currently about 461 million miles (74,200 kilometers), were to decrease, this change would cause the Earth to tilt extremely, resulting in less sunlight and more areas experiencing sub-zero temperatures.

Although current telescopes are powerful enough to determine how far an exoplanet's orbit has deviated, they are not yet able to measure a planet's tilt, which means the astronomers' study will help with that task.

The new research suggests that paying attention to the orbits and motion of nearby large gas planets could help infer a planet's habitability.

Kane concluded: "It is important to understand Jupiter's influence on Earth's climate over the long term, including how it has altered our planet's orbit in the past and how it may do so again in the future."

The team's research results have been published in The Astronomical Journal.

Related knowledge

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and the largest planet in the solar system. It has 95 known satellites. Astronomers discovered this planet very early. The Romans called it Jupiter after their god. Ancient China called Jupiter "Sui Xing" because it takes about 12 years to orbit the celestial sphere, which is the same as the earthly branches. The Sui Xing calendar was created. It is said that the ancients observed that Sui Xing was blue, and blue belongs to wood in the "five elements", so they named it Jupiter.

BY:Robert Lea

FY: Autumn

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