The Solar System

[Star-gazer]

Why are the gas planets further from the sun than the rocky planets of the solar system? All the terrestrial planets are located relatively close to the sun, but why? Over the past decade we have found many gas giants orbiting very close to their host star. If Jupiter traded orbits with mars, what would that do to our orbit around the sun, or would earth even exist. Would jupiter add earth to its moon collection? Or would Jupiter simply engulf the earth?

[losfomoT]

It would be the brightest object in the sky (aside from the sun and moon), brighter than Venus I'm sure. And you would see a lot more detail through a telescope... But I don't think it would affect our orbit much...

The reason we have found many gas giants orbiting close to their star is because those are the types of planets that cause their star to wobble enough for us to catch it with our observing instruments. It does not mean that gas giants tend to be close to their parent star. We do not have the technology yet to detect an Earth sized planet orbiting anything but the closest stars to us.

[kaneda]

It is down to the make up of the original accretion disk which formed the solar system where planets end up. A cold accretion disk is generally accepted because had the Sun been burning from the beginning, the solar wind would have blown light gases beyond Jupiter which it would not have been able to use for formation. It is also said that Jupiter and Saturn used a slingshot to throw planets and rocks further in and out of the solar system in the early days.

Jupiter masses 317.8 Earths. Mars can come within 35,000,000 miles of Earth. If Jupiter was where Mars is now, while I don't think it would drag Earth from it's orbit (?) but I think it could change the shape of the orbit of Earth around the Sun over time giving us some wild climate swings. Given it's size, Jupiter would be very bright if at Mars' distance and I think we would see naked eye detail on it.

[eburacum45]

Yes, Jupiter would be large enough to show a disc, but it would be too small for much detail to be seen. I made an image of Jupiter in Mars' orbit a while ago, placed next to the Moon for comparison. Jupiter had about the same angular diameter as the Sea of Tranquillity if I recall correctly.

[orcot]

Yes, Jupiter would be large enough to show a disc, but it would be too small for much detail to be seen. I made an image of Jupiter in Mars' orbit a while ago, placed next to the Moon for comparison. Jupiter had about the same angular diameter as the Sea of Tranquillity if I recall correctly.
That's verry large do you still gave that pic somewhere?

[eburacum45]

I've made it again using Celestia and here it is;

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/5948/moonjupitergx9.jpg
The Moon compared to Jupiter if Jupiter were in Mars' orbit

note that this is just Jupiter at the distance Mars is at today, not at opposition, so sometimes Jupiter would look even bigger.

[Myles]

Thats a great and imaginative image. Thanks

[orcot]

honnestly I've never suspected it thx verry interesting.
Yust wondering would jupiter still look like a disc seen from mars our would it already be reduced to a dot in the sky?

[Star-gazer]

If jupiter were that close it would be a sight to behold, especially with a telescope of any power.

[Diode-Man]

:) I love our cosmic atom... :)

[Enmos]

If jupiter were that close it would be a sight to behold..

And not in a good way I suspect..

[Orleander]

....http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/5948/moonjupitergx9.jpg
The Moon compared to Jupiter if Jupiter were in Mars' orbit

note that this is just Jupiter at the distance Mars is at today, not at opposition, so sometimes Jupiter would look even bigger.

whaaaa? I'm confused. :confused:

[blobrana]

This reminds me of the Father Ted - the cows sketch.




http://youtube.com/watch?v=98hO97ky-sA

[James R]

Orleander:

whaaaa? I'm confused.

I think the image shows how big Jupiter would look to us, compared with how big the moon looks to us, if Jupiter had the same orbit as Mars, rather than the one it actually has (much further from the Sun). The orbit of Mars is much closer to the Earth's orbit than Jupiter's orbit is.