A new study has revealed that a shift in Jupiter’s orbit could make Earth’s surface more habitable than it already is.
When a planet has a perfectly circular orbit around its star, the distance between the planet and the star never changes. However, most planets have “eccentric” orbits around their stars, which means that the orbit is elliptical, and as a planet approaches its star, it gets more heat, which affects the climate.
Jupiter orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit, and a simulation of the alternate arrangements of our solar system by scientists at the University of California Riverside (UCR) suggests that when Jupiter’s orbit is more eccentric than it is now, or “eccentric” — it also causes significant changes in orbit of our planet.
This change caused by the orbit of Jupiter – the largest planet in the solar system – could affect Earth’s ability to support life for the better.
“If Jupiter’s position remains the same, but the shape of its orbit changes, it could actually increase the habitability of the planet,” said study leader Pam Vervoort, a planetary and Earth scientist at the University of California Riverside. “Many are convinced that the Earth is an example of a habitable planet and that any change in the orbit of Jupiter, being a giant planet, can only be harmful to the Earth. We show that both assumptions are wrong.”
Planets with circular orbits maintain a constant distance from their star, while more unusual – elliptical – orbits bring planets closer and farther from their stars at different points in that orbit.
The proximity of a star determines how much radiation it receives and what its essence is, which means that it affects the planet’s climate.
And if Jupiter’s orbit became more eccentric, the team found that Earth’s orbit would also be pushed to become more eccentric. This means that the Earth will sometimes be closer to the Sun than it actually is.
As a result, some of the coldest parts of our planet will warm to temperatures in the habitable range — between 32 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 100 degrees Celsius) — for a variety of life on Earth.
The team believes that their findings could help astronomers identify potentially habitable planets outside the solar system – exoplanets.
This is because the distance from a planet to its star and its variation determines how much radiation the different parts of it receive, creating the seasons.
Currently, the search for habitability depends on whether a planet lies within its star’s habitable zone — the region around the star that has the right temperature to allow liquid water to exist — but these findings could provide new avenues for exploration.
University of California astrophysicist Stephen Kane said: “The first thing people look for when looking for exoplanets is the habitable zone, the distance between the star and the planet to see if there is enough energy for liquid water on the planet’s surface. The water on the planet’s surface. The surface is a scale. The first is very simple and does not take into account the shape of the planet’s orbit or the seasonal changes that the planet may experience.”
Other factors can affect a planet’s habitability, and the team has also tested some of them. This includes the tilt of the planet, which affects the amount of radiation it receives from its star.
Scientists at the University of California Riverside found that if Jupiter were much closer to the Sun than the current distance of about 742 million km, it could cause the Earth to tilt too far. This will result in our planet getting less sunlight, which means that large parts of our planet will experience temperatures close to freezing.
Although current telescopes are powerful enough to determine the central eccentricity of the orbits of the outer planets, they are not well equipped to measure the inclinations of these worlds. This means that astronomers must work on methods that can help determine this.
A recent study suggests that searching for the orbits and motions of nearby gas giants can help infer this important factor in habitability.
“It is important to understand the impact of Jupiter on Earth’s climate over time, how it has changed our orbit in the past, and how it may change us again in the future,” Kane concluded.