Jupiter's Shifting Orbit Will Make Earth Paradise (or Hell)

Oh, Jupiter. If only the gas giant shifted its orbit slightly, becoming more eccentric (meaning ovalshaped), it could transform the shape of Earth's orbit, too, causing parts of the blue planet to move closer to the sun.

That, in turn, would mean less unlivable ice-covered regions and the potential for more habitable zones.

That was the focus of a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal. Modeling data from our solar system as we understand it today, University of California, Riverside (UCR) scientists created a theoretical system that slightly altered Jupiter's orbit.

"Many are convinced that Earth is the epitome of a habitable planet and that any change in Jupiter's orbit, being the massive planet it is, could only be bad for Earth," Pam Vervoort, a UCR Earth and planetary scientist and lead author of the study, said in a news release.

"We show that both assumptions are wrong." A slight change in Jupiter's orbit could also have the potential to turn portions of our planet into a subfreezing hellscape. If Jupiter positioned itself closer to the sun in its new orbit, it would create extreme tilting of Earth, causing some regions to see fewer solar rays.

Seeing how small changes to Jupiter's positioning and orbit lead to dramatic changes on Earth, the researchers are planning to develop methods to help them estimate factors beyond an orbit-like measuring a planet's mass and determining tilt-to figure out the volume of rays certain areas will receive.

"It's important to understand the impact that Jupiter has had on Earth's climate through time, how its effect on our orbit has changed us in the past, and how it might change us once again in the future," Stephen Kane, a UCR astrophysicist and study coauthor, says in the release.-Tim Newcomb