Earth's Savior, Jupiter

What and where is Jupiter?

The largest planet in our solar system and the 5th away from the sun, Jupiter is one of the most spectacular planets to look out for and is one of the brightest in our night sky. Did you know that Jupiter is 318 times the mass of Earth which makes it 2.5 more massive than all of the planets in the solar system combined. But, if Jupiter got any more massive it would decrease in size because it would start pulling in on itself due to its increased density. Despite its large size, Jupiter's rotation is surprisingly quick and is the fastest spinning planet, around 10 hours. Its incredible rotation also allows it to create a strong magnetic field making its surrounding quite dangerous. And the famous Red Spot is a storm that has been roaring for at least 400 years as it had been spotted in the 17th century, but since then has nearly doubled in size. The gas planet is a wonder but so are its 67 identified moons that contribute to its glory.

 Solar system size comparasion                                                          Image of Jupiter's poles

How Jupiter saved Earth

One of the dangers people rarely bring up are huge asteroids and comets that could possibly make contact with our surface, it would be an extinction-level event ( just like the dinosaurs) that would bring an end to humanity :(. Have you ever wondered why we have rarely had problems with asteroids causing problems, its because of Jupiter. Jupiters mass allows it to have a massive gravitational field that attracts a huge amount of celestial objects into its atmosphere. The impacts on Jupiter are so common that an amateur astronomer managed to catch one happening while he was stargazing, here's the video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVSU_TJlSjYfeature=emb_logo. However, in the past when more objects were in space, impacts were the reason many of the ingredients of life exist on our planet today ( such as water), so if you think about Jupiter could have possibly stopped life from ever existing. But in the present, we are all grateful for the savior Jupiter (ALL HAIL JUPITER).

The Great Red Spot

Sub Topic : THE GREAT RED SPOT

 The Great Red Spot is amazing, I would like to share even more with you. It is humongous, by humongous I mean nearly 1000 Earths can fit inside of it. According to NDTV, "The Great Red Spot is a storm roughly 10,000 miles (16,000 km) wide churning in Jupiter's southern hemisphere, boasting crimson-colored clouds that spin counterclockwise at high speeds. It is one of the marvels of the solar system and has been in existence for centuries, but scientists until now have had little understanding of what lies below its surface." No final thoughts, thank you.