HAPPY Friday! It doesn't matter if you're on Earth or in outer space, Friday is always welcome! This Friday is my second aboard the Starship Flybrary; once I've sent this post back through space & time to all my Earthbound friends, I'll treat myself to a celebratory pint or three at the pub.
It looks like we took some minor damage from that unexpected asteroid attack three days ago, but the captain says it's nothing to worry about; they've got some spacewalkers thumping about outside as we speak (which, of course, has proven a noisy racket that keeps me from getting a good night's bleeding sleep).
I know I called Jupiter a bossy know-it-all back near Ceres, but I've really changed my mind on the subject. It turns out this gas giant played an important role in the early development of our solar system, and for that it deserves credit.
I checked out an old copy of a science magazine from the library & have since learned that Jupiter once acted like a force field, preventing matter from communicating easily across its orbit.
First, Jupiter gained weight by vacuuming up the sun's matter ejections, much like a dedicated maid tidies up after her messy, absent-minded professor. Once Jupiter got big enough, its rotation generated enough oomph! to discourage matter from crossing one side to the other, thus allowing the planets between it & the sun to coalesce in peace.
If Jupiter hadn't acted like a sort of bouncer at a nightclub, incoming asteroids & planetesimals would have kept the environment too chaotic for Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars to really shake it up on the dance floor.
Think about it like this: which scenario is more fun? Cutting a rug undisturbed with your girlfriends, laughing & having a great time, or constantly fending off the unwanted advances of every overbearing too-cocky annoyingly-persistent Axe-doused intricate-graphic-Tee acid-wash-jeans trainers-wearing d-bag?
As an informal ambassador for Earth, I'd like to take this time to say "Thanks, Jupiter" on behalf of all of us!
Say hi to Guinan for me!
ReplyDeleteLOL, cheers! I'll definitely say hello for you, but every time I try to strike up a conversation, she just repeats the same line, over & over: "My name is Guinan. I tend bar, and I listen." I'm like, "I know that, Guinan. I know."
ReplyDeleteDelightful! Tell me more!!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely learning cool things about our solar system. Jupiter is particularly fascinating, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I never thought I'd have to completely leave our sun's gravity to truly appreciate it, but there you have it!