https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/does-jupiter-really-protect-us-from-cosmic-impacts/

Granted it's not the most sophisticated article and it seems to be behind a paywall. I learned about it in a Crash Course Astronomy episode about the Jovian Moons on Youtube.

This article here found that there would have been significantly fewer impacts on Earth without a Jupiter-mass planet, but several times more if Jupiter had the mass of Saturn. It also depends on the class of bodies (asteroids, short-period comets, long-period comets): https://spaceaustralia.com/feature/jupiters-complicated-relationship-life-earth

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In a way yeah you could say God put them there. Jupiter, the planets, our entire solar system came from a swirling cloud of gas and debris that overtime condensed down into the planets we know today. That is why they are all orbiting the same direction and are mostly on the same planes of orbit. Jupiter has indeed been collecting debris overtime. But anything that doesnt strike the planet gets ejected back out.

I suppose even broom is not quite right. Sheppard would be more fitting. Jupiter, Saturn. All the gas giants are what is responsible for stability. They have given our solar system the stability to allow for life on Earth.

Edit: Just to be clear. Moons and objects can be caught into orbits around other planets but it's usually the result of multiple gravitational influences not just one big gravity well. Then there's other instances like striking other objects. Objects breaking apart and such.

"The beginning" wtf you talking about God put them there? It's definitely been accumulating rocks and debris since the beginning, slowly creating and collecting moons from trapped debris. Having a big gravity well in your solar system collects lots of space rocks that would otherwise have a chance of hitting a planet

They've been there since the beginning. It probably has thousands of moons. Hell Jupiter has a ring! Its just very faint. The moons that have been discovered as of late are larger and more significant then a small rock. So they get catalogued.

I’m not sure where you heard this.

Then why Jupiter got so many moons? Can't imagine it's spitting them out from the core

I guess I count falling into Jupiter as getting trapped

Jupiters orbital velocity around the sun is added to any object entering its sphere of influence. Its how gravitational sling shots are done on spacecraft. Asteroids will absolutely do the same thing. They'll be either ejected into a higher orbit around the sun or a lower orbit based on their entry trajectory. Whatever is trapped by Jupiter has been trapped for awhile and was the remnant of its creation.

However if a new object is entering and doesnt hit Jupiter itself or a moon it will be ejected back out of the system with greater energy relative to Jupiter. Lagrange points are the closest things to actual gravitational traps.

Is there a source for this debunking?

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I'd say it's an infinite number of chances because there are an infinite number of possible universes of existence. Probably says that is something exists in one occurrence of an infinite set, there are an infinite number of them in which that same thing exists.

> Most of the shit that was about to hit the Earth, got pulled into the moon. Look at all them craters.

The earth has been hit by far more "shit" than the moon on account it being much bigger than the moon. We just don't see most of them due to earth having tectonic plates floating on liquid magma and the surface being constantly subsumed into it plus geological forces constantly eroding the surface.

Not really, because of the size and mass of Jupiter it will trap any smaller asteroids in its gravitational well. Additionally, because it has a more distant orbit of the sun than the earth does, most asteroids will be redirected away from the inner orbits if they don't get trapped.

Think of it like playing mini golf ⛳️ and hitting through a windmill. Except the windmill blades and your ball are strong magnets. And the hole is about the size of a puckered butthole. You have unlimited balls but you can't look where you're shooting.

This analogy went off the rails but the point is Jupiter is a very good bouncer for the earth club.

This becomes even more important if we want to start colonizing other planets. Also, this will open the door to humans being able to travel deeper into space for longer time periods. Imagine the possibilities if they were to solve this bone density issue with this experiment.

How come I see so many posts removed from here that are VERY space based but need to be asked in a different forum? Why is it so heavily moderated and censured?

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Hello u/Hizzo21, your submission "What's the importance of our solar system having so many moons?" has been removed from r/space because:

• Such questions should be asked in the "All space questions" thread stickied at the top of the sub.

Please read the rules in the sidebar and check r/space for duplicate submissions before posting. If you have any questions about this removal please message the r/space moderators. Thank you.

Asking this is like asking why it’s important for the earth to have bones.

Hello u/letsplay123456789, your submission "What are the chances of me existing in another universe?" has been removed from r/space because:

• Such questions should be asked in the "All space questions" thread stickied at the top of the sub.

Please read the rules in the sidebar and check r/space for duplicate submissions before posting. If you have any questions about this removal please message the r/space moderators. Thank you.

I mean those giant planets trap a lot of debris that would smash earth and that helps us.

We can only prove that space and time are relative and that time is a matter of perspective between two points. There is no time constant. It's all relative and without a grand unifying theory it will stay just a relative component in measurement.

We are actively trying to prove that time is 'real' with no definitive answer

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I would define you in 4 dimensions, so if you can imagine a 4d blob of yourself as your traverse time throughout your entire existence, as well as how you came to be and how you are disposed of when you die (which worms eat you, where they go afterwards etc.) And I think you can consider that another version of 'you'. Though I grant other, less exacting definitions of 'you' would probably pass muster for other people. But I think it's equally incumbent upon you to have to clearly define what you mean by 'you' to prove that there isn't another one out there. Delving into natural language definition and semantics seems to be the crux of your entire argument. If this becomes a debate over semantical definitions then this debate becomes completely asinine. You're basically saying that even if a copy exists, it's not you because its a copy... okay... maybe you can move yourself to get past your self imposed semantical restriction and ponder the actual argument. Because what you're doing is splitting hairs that don't matter.

"Caution: Jumping more than 20 feet off the ground may cause you to cross out of Io's orbit and into Jupiter's, and you will never land on Io again."

That'd be a world without high jump events.

Yeah which means we evolved to fit the moon, the moon wasn’t created for our benefit.