I was taught years ago that one of the many conditions that make the Earth stable enough for complex life is that our “big brother” Jupiter works as a vacuum cleaner, clearing out wayward comets and asteroids from the inner solar system so fewer of them have a chance to contact Earth. Makes sense, Jupiter is big.
I recently learned, however, that Jupiter’s “surface gravity” is only 2.5x that of the Earth. No offense to Jupiter, but that feels less like a Kirby and more like a Swiffer.
Is there some different measurement of gravity (other than “surface gravity) that I’m not aware of that’s doing the heavy lifting? Or is it possible that in another, hypothetically similar solar system, a rocky planet 2.5x the size of earth positioned roughly the same distance Jupiter is from Earth would do the same “vacuuming” work?
In: 1661
The surface gravity is only 2.5 times the Earth’s, but remember that Jupiter is also way bigger. The strength of gravity decreases with the square of the distance, and Jupiter is 318 times Earth’s mass. This means that at three same distance from the center of both, Jupiter pulls on an object with 318 times the force, rather than the 2.5 times that surface gravity would suggest.
Latest Answers