Yesterday I was watching a movie called the “Wandering Earth” (it’s on Netflix). I am not recommending it, because it is very complex to see due to some continuity problems in its script. However, your original approach awoke in me the initiative to tell you a little more about Jupiterthe planet that protects us the most in our Solar System.
The base of the film tells the story of how a group of scientists plant some kind of underground engines to take the Earth out of the Solar System, because our massive star is coming to an end. Yes, a beautiful madness to explode with laughter for a while.
But when they get close to Jupiter, one of the boosters fails and we have to try to prevent the gravity of the gas giant from consuming us, generating an impact that will end our world.
So, for the first time in history, Jupiter wouldn’t be protecting us like it always does. Although in this fiction that is close to insanity, this time the fault is ours, because nobody ordered us to remove the Earth from its region in the Solar System.
How does Jupiter behave in real life?
- The real nature of Jupiter, if it never occurs to us to leave where we are, is perfect for Earth. The gas giant is located near a region called the Asteroid Belt and absorbs as much rock as it wants to enter the region of the inner planets of the Solar System. Thus, it prevents the amount of asteroid from being reduced and thus minimizes the possibility of impact with our world.
- According to a review of National Geographic Jupiter is the planet with the largest number of moons in the Solar System. So far there are 80, but it is estimated that there are many more that have not yet been discovered.
- We can’t land on Jupiter. It is a gaseous planet that does not have a solid surface like Earth does. There are only gases and liquids in its composition.
- It was discovered in 1610. One of the fathers of physics, Galileo Galilei, was the first to see it and record it in the history books. During that same observation he was able to see some of the moons that are still part of his orbit today.
- An extraordinary turn. Its location, the fifth with respect to the Sun, means that it takes 12 years to go around the sun; very long period. However, its rotation on its axis, fast as few others, makes it have a shorter day (or night): only approximately 10 hours.