Jul 11, 2025 05:42 PM
Jupiter endangers Earth, and may have extincted the dinosaurs
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/...dinosaurs/
KEY POINTS: Some 65 million years ago, an asteroid struck Earth, causing our planet’s 5th great mass extinction since the Cambrian explosion. Many have wondered why Jupiter, which allegedly protects the inner planets from catastrophic impacts, was unable to shield Earth from this one. It turns out that thinking is all wrong; Jupiter is an existential hazard to Earth, making impacts far more likely. Here’s why our Solar System isn’t necessarily “lucky” to have Jupiter... (MORE - details)
Comet believed to be 3 billion years older than our solar system
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2025/07...752246871/
INTRO: Scientists believe an interstellar comet discovered earlier this month could be one of the oldest that astronomers have ever encountered.
University of Oxford scientists said the 3I/ATLAS comet could be some 3 billion years older than our solar system, which is believed to be 4.5 billion years old.
The comet was first reported by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System or ATLAS survey telescope in Chile on July 1, while so-called "pre-discovery" observations date back to June 14.
"Comet 3I/ATLAS was spotted on July 1, but it's not from around here. It came from outside our solar system and is only the 3rd known interstellar comet. Astronomers are studying it before it disappears," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on X, accompanied by an image of the comet.
"This is an object from a part of the galaxy we've never seen up close before," University of Oxford astrophysicist Chris Lintott told space.com in a statement.
"We think there's a two-thirds chance this comet is older than the solar system, and that it's been drifting through interstellar space ever since." (MORE - details)
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/...dinosaurs/
KEY POINTS: Some 65 million years ago, an asteroid struck Earth, causing our planet’s 5th great mass extinction since the Cambrian explosion. Many have wondered why Jupiter, which allegedly protects the inner planets from catastrophic impacts, was unable to shield Earth from this one. It turns out that thinking is all wrong; Jupiter is an existential hazard to Earth, making impacts far more likely. Here’s why our Solar System isn’t necessarily “lucky” to have Jupiter... (MORE - details)
Comet believed to be 3 billion years older than our solar system
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2025/07...752246871/
INTRO: Scientists believe an interstellar comet discovered earlier this month could be one of the oldest that astronomers have ever encountered.
University of Oxford scientists said the 3I/ATLAS comet could be some 3 billion years older than our solar system, which is believed to be 4.5 billion years old.
The comet was first reported by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System or ATLAS survey telescope in Chile on July 1, while so-called "pre-discovery" observations date back to June 14.
"Comet 3I/ATLAS was spotted on July 1, but it's not from around here. It came from outside our solar system and is only the 3rd known interstellar comet. Astronomers are studying it before it disappears," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on X, accompanied by an image of the comet.
"This is an object from a part of the galaxy we've never seen up close before," University of Oxford astrophysicist Chris Lintott told space.com in a statement.
"We think there's a two-thirds chance this comet is older than the solar system, and that it's been drifting through interstellar space ever since." (MORE - details)