Jupiter's Role in Asteroid Impacts

Does Jupiter protect Earth from asteroid impact? A new study evaluates the myth that the giant planet acts as our protector, gravitationally slinging asteroids out of a collision...

25 January 2011

By Chris Smith.

Part of the show Antimatter Storms and the Universe's Dark Ages

633px-Great_Red_Spot_From_Voyager_1.jpg

The Great Red Spot as seen from Voyager 1 This dramatic view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and its surroundings was obtained by Voyager 1 on February 25, 1979, when the spacecraft was 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Cloud...

Credit:

CC0 - NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab

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Does Jupiter protect Earth from asteroid impact? A new study evaluates the myth that the giant planet acts as our protector, gravitationally slinging asteroids out of a collision course...