Could Jupiter's Gravity Throw the Solar System Into Chaos?

www.dailygalaxy.com...

Quote from source:
There has been a lot of media attention over the possibility of asteroids and meteors striking Earth and causing cataclysmic damage, but now some scientists are saying that the planet Mercury could also possibly smash into our planet. Huh? That sounds bad.

Jacques Laskar of the Paris Observatory, as well as Konstantin Batygin and Gregory Laughlin of the University of California, Santa Cruz reached the same unsettling conclusion using separate computer simulations of long-term planetary motion.

According to Laughlin, "The solar system isn't as stable as we'd thought."

Specifically, both teams found that Jupiter's gravity could eventually make Mercury's orbit so out of round that it overlaps with the path of Venus. This kind of close encounter would potentially send the inner solar system into chaos.

"Once Mercury crosses Venus's orbit," Laughlin says, "Mercury is in serious trouble."

Interesting scenario to think that we always thought our system was stable and now we find these things out.

While it is not a terrifying situation it is still something that is very interesting and should be talked about a little more in depth.

What I find funny is that there is a 1% chance this is likely to happen, ever, but we have less of a chance than that to win the lottery but yet millions do so.

Cool story non the less and thought I would share it with all of you!!

Any thoughts?

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187


Wouldn't place any bets on it happening.

Reading a bit farther down (as I suspected it would) the article says:

BUT, don’t start worrying just yet. There's only about a 1% chance that any of this will happen before the Sun becomes a red giant billions of years from now (and destroys life on Earth anyway). Even though the inner solar system may not be quite as stable as once supposed, on the other hand, it doesn’t appear to be headed for disaster anytime soon.

We are far more dangerous to ourselves, in reality:

Great Britain's Astronomer Royal and respected professor of astrophysics at Cambridge University claims in his book 'Our Final Century' that humans have only a 50-50 shot of making it through the 21st century—let alone another billion years. If Rees turns out to be THAT wrong, then we will have great reason to celebrate.

In other words, if and when an impact does happen a billion years from now, humans will likely have already been long extinct or have evolved into an extremely advanced space-faring species that defied all odds.

reply to post by weedwhacker


Oh I agree it is just about as silly as worrying about the Suns transformation into a red giant. I just liked the science and the idea that we know very little about our own solar system.

Cool, but I do not think I am going to go build a bunker for this.

I think humans have also entered a crossroads on our evolution as well. We need to get rid of our primitive thinking, yes, it may have helped us get this far in life but it helps us no more. It is a hinderance and it is what is holding us back.

They upcoming time period will be very interesting. As for people saying that we have 50/50 chance of surviving the upcoming century, they forget that is why we are still around is because we are so adaptable.

Every 'century' there are people that think this is the end for humanity. People need to stop thinking and saying how this could be the end and instead focus on making the future better.

Thanks for a good discussion.

Pred...

I would much rather take the !% chance that in a billion years or so Mercury could be pulled into Venus' orbit by Jupiter....

over the much much better chance that the earth get hit by a global killer asteroid/ meteor originating from the outer solar system/ Kyper belt region...which would increase ridiculously without that giant vacuum cleaner we call Jupiter sucking all that crap up before it even gets close.

Gooooooooooo Jupiter!!!

CDS

reply to post by predator0187


Scientists are basing their models on Einsteinian gravity, which is a flying joke.

Here's a hundred reasons why Einstein's version of relativity is wrong:
knol.google.com...

Since we know Einstein was wrong, we can assume that our theories of gravity are also wrong.

Gravity is a dielectric force, it is inherently tied to the electromagnetic properties of matter.

If we make this assumption about gravity and we use the Plasma Cosmology model of the universe, we don't have to worry about planets colliding.

Planets assume an electrically stable orbit.

If they get to close to each other, they will discharge until they arrive at an electrical equilibrium.

When scientists look at other exoplanet solar systems, they find that the odds of those systems being stable over the assumed time frame they were formed are impossible.

For example they will see a star that they assume is 100 million years old, but when they measure the stability of the planets, they find that they would only be stable for a period of 10 million years. Since this obviously makes no sense, it refutes the standard model of planetary formation and gravity.

Planets are charged bodies in an electric field.

[edit on 9-6-2010 by mnemeth1]

reply to post by mnemeth1


And BOOM! comes the disinformation, yet again....:shk:

Since we know Einstein was wrong, we can assume that our theories of gravity are also wrong.

No...only YOU (based on a bunch of nonsense you've read by people with their heads up a cow's behind)....

Gravity is a dielectric force, it is inherently tied to the electromagnetic properties of matter.

....and another 'hypothesis' is relegated to the dustbins of the "Museum of Nonsense"....

Shame that your crusade to sully the name of Einstein turns into a rant and further sullying of someone else's thread....you've had PLENTY of chance to 'argue' this baloney in your own threads, how about giving it a rest? You are wrong....it's as bad as Tesla and his "Ether" junk. Bad junk-science=Bad (and incorrect) conclusions.