Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: flr on 28/06/2013 22:52:24

Title: what would happen if Jupiter would crash into Sun
Post by: flr on 28/06/2013 22:52:24

What would happen if Jupiter would crash into Sun? How much energy (power) Earth will get from such event? Can life on Earth survive?

I goggled, but I got contradictory answers.

Title: Re: what would happen if Jupiter would crash into Sun
Post by: SeanB on 29/06/2013 07:12:07

Going in it would make a pretty big flare, probably enough to cook the planet to a point where the only things left will be whatever lives at the bottom of the oceans and in the rocks deep underground. But it would have to go in on the side of the sun directly facing the earth, and we would have to be in the path of the resulting flare.

Otherwise all that will happen will be a crazy solar flare that will fry all orbiting satellites not hardened enough, and the Aurora will be visible down to the equator for months afterwards. Might have a lot of extra rain from the charged particles providing nucleation points for years afterwards, but otherwise nothing bad.

Title: Re: what would happen if Jupiter would crash into Sun
Post by: CliffordK on 29/06/2013 08:04:50

A lot would be depend on whether the impact was on Earth's side of the sun, or on the opposite side of the sun, or perhaps it had a slowly deteriorating orbit over a number of months or years.

Title: Re: what would happen if Jupiter would crash into Sun
Post by: Bored chemist on 29/06/2013 13:32:20

Since the scenario is a matter of science fiction, I guess the outcome would be whatever the author said it would.

Title: Re: what would happen if Jupiter would crash into Sun
Post by: syhprum on 29/06/2013 21:49:13

I take it as that Jupiter is .1% the mass of the Sun there will be some gravitational effects through out the solar system due to the Suns increased mass after has adsorbed Jupiter.
No doubt they would build up slowly as Jupiter spirals in.

Title: Re: what would happen if Jupiter would crash into Sun
Post by: galaxysim on 03/07/2013 18:27:32

If you  Teleported Jupiter to the suns surface and just let it drop in it would probably temporarily disrupt fusion at the suns core...if it got that far.

I should imagine Jupiter would be smeared into a a 3d blobby spiral. A bit like a marble. The sun is rotating and so is Jupiter. Im sure there would be a big outburst and splash, how much this would effect the earth is not clear to me.

Tough question to answer, but a great one to ask.

Comet Hits Jupiter - Shoemaker-Levy 9 - BBC Animated Guide 1994

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9#Impacts