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If it weren't The Grand Tack... Jupiter would be dead...

Okay, guys, let's talk about this in more detail.

Jupiter wasn't just chilling on an inner orbit. It was spiraling towards the Sun.

It probably started not immediately, but once it gained enough mass. The Sun's pull grew stronger, and its orbit began to shift slightly with each pass, forming a spiral instead of a closed loop.

According to the "Nice Model" (i think ) — the leading theory describing the dynamic evolution of the Solar System, including the migration of giant planets — Jupiter underwent "Type II Migration."

This is when a giant planet's gravity carves a gap in the protoplanetary disk, but it still slowly drifts inward, succumbing to the disk's own gravity.

So, Jupiter is slowly moving inward, devouring clouds of dust and gas along the way — the very fuel needed to form potential super-Earths (planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune).

We see such planets in systems that either have no gas giants or where they are located much farther out.

What would have happened?

On its path, Jupiter would have swallowed even more building materials, some of which in our reality went into forming Earth.

In the end, it would have only two possible fates.

From what I understand, we can't say for sure which one would occur:

1. A slow death spiral into the Sun due to losing energy from friction with the gas disk.

2. Stopping on a very close orbit, becoming a "Hot Jupiter."

let me tell you more

A "Hot Jupiter" is a gas giant, like our Jupiter, but orbiting extremely close to its star (much closer than Mercury is to the Sun).

The giant planet wouldn't be able to hold onto its light hydrogen-helium atmosphere. The gas would intensely evaporate and escape into space, forming a huge, comet-like tail.

Over time, only a small, dense rocky/icy core might remain — a so-called "chthonian planet." This is what's left of a gas giant after its entire atmosphere has been stripped away.

But do you see? The ultimate outcome is the same.

The only question is the speed of his death:

1. Quick death — falling into the Sun.

2. Slow death — being evaporated on a scorching orbit.

hahha...he is walking dead.

But do you what happened next?

Saturn saved it.

Saturn's role in our system was crucial. Migrating in Jupiter's wake, it entered an orbital resonance with it.

It's not that Saturn was "stronger" or "massive" than the Sun. It's that their combined gravity began to act on the protoplanetary disk as a unified force.

Their joint gravity created a barrier that effectively "pushed" them both back outward, stopping the death spiral. This brought the entire system into balance. It's a consequence of the conservation of angular momentum.

By entering resonance, Jupiter and Saturn began to coherently "push" against the outer parts of the disk with their gravity.

They transferred so much energy and angular momentum to the disk that it altered the balance of forces.

In systems where "Jupiter" has no "Saturn"-savior, its fate is sealed.

Resonance isn't just about gravity; it's about synchronous motion in orbit at a specific distance, which in turn amplifies their gravitational influence.

(Metaphor time)

--- I imagine it like two marbles in a slightly flattened spinning top. One is slowly spinning and threatening to fall into the center. But if you add a second one that spins in perfect sync, shaking the disc, the first one will gradually widen its orbit.

They started dancing together and, over time, created a perfect balance for the entire disc. ---

...or just dance.

(And it's likely because of this dance that the orbits of Uranus and Neptune got shifted).

Here are a few examples of stars that didn't have a Saturn for their Jupiter:

Hot Jupiters:·

HD 209458 b (Osiris): One of the most studied. It was the first where an evaporating atmosphere was detected.

· WASP-12 b: A true "monster" among hot Jupiters. It's so close to its star that the star is literally devouring it, pulling material away. It's extremely bloated and hot.

· Tau Boötis b: A huge planet that is thought to orbit so close it causes noticeable "tidal bulges" on its star's surface.

Cannibal Stars, where we can see signs of planetary consumption:·

Star HIP 68468 — a classic "cannibal," where excess lithium and iron have been found, indicating the ingestion of a rocky planet (or several).·

Star Kepler-1656 shows a chemical composition that scientists believe could be a consequence of absorbing a gas giant.

Calculations show that if it had consumed a Jupiter-mass planet, it would explain the observed anomalies.

---P.S. I'm not an expert in astronomy. I just went and read a dozen articles about this in pop-sci magazines and something on Wiki, and watched a documentary.

I got hooked after watching the BBC's "The Planets," where they said Jupiter moved on a spiral, passing through the orbit of the future Mars.

My brain asked, "waaaaait, what if it had continued?" And I fell down the rabbit hole. You know how it is.

And then I realized that no one in our fandom really talks about this...

Also it part 1/

(find in repost)

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