The earliest life on Earth was born 3.8 billion years ago. In the long years that followed, life continued to evolve and ushered in a life explosion 520 million years ago. This time the explosion of life allowed a large number of different kinds of life to appear on the earth, laying the foundation for the subsequent birth of mankind.
Before humans got out of the earth, scientists always believed that life could be born and evolved on the earth, mainly because the earth satisfies various conditions for the birth of life, such as a thick atmosphere, light and heat from the sun, a large amount of liquid water on the surface, etc. .
However, with the continuous development of human technology, we have a further understanding of the universe after we walked out of the earth. At this time, scientists discovered that life can appear on the earth and continue to last, not only because the various conditions of the earth are in line with the evolution of life, but more importantly, it comes from a stable external environment.
If there is no good starry sky environment created by the solar system outside the earth, even if the earth’s ecological conditions are good, early life can be born, but it is impossible to stabilize evolutionary evolution. There are too many disasters in the universe that can seriously threaten the earth and threaten the survival and continuation of life.
So how did the excellent starry sky environment outside the earth come from? Here we have to thank the three “protector gods”, who have been with them all the time, giving birth to life on the earth and evolving high-level intelligent life like humans over a long period of time.
1. The gas giant planet in front of the earth: Jupiter
I believe everyone is familiar with Jupiter. It is the leader of the eight planets in the solar system and a huge gas giant planet. The mass of Jupiter is very large, and the combined mass of the other seven planets is only one-fourth that of Jupiter. It can be seen how big it is, the other planets combined are not as heavy as a Jupiter.
It is precisely because of Jupiter’s very large mass that its position in the solar system is very special. We all know that planets need to revolve around stars. Seven planets, including the Earth and Mars, revolve around the center of the sun, and the center of revolution is the center of the sun.
But Jupiter is different. It does not revolve strictly around the center of the sun, but moves around the “center of mass”. This movement pattern is relatively common between galaxies and galaxies. For example, the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy revolve around the two gravitational forces. The center of mass is moving around. The motion patterns of Jupiter and the Sun are similar.
So where is the center of mass of Jupiter’s orbiting motion? It is located between the sun and Jupiter, about 7% of the radius of the sun. Therefore, the movement pattern of celestial bodies in the solar system is like this: the seven planets revolve around the sun in a standard revolution, and Jupiter and the sun form a movement around each other. From this point, we can also see that Jupiter is a very special planet.
Jupiter’s special way of motion is too advantageous for the earth. We all know that Jupiter’s position is in front of the earth, and its orbiting motion with the sun can restrain those asteroids and other asteroids trying to enter the inner galaxy. Small celestial body. We all know that the outside of the inner galaxy is not calm at all. There are many asteroids, especially in the Kuiper belt on the edge, there are countless asteroids and various debris.
For billions of years, there have been asteroids in the outer galaxy trying to enter the inner galaxy, posing a threat of impact to the planets in the habitable zone. However, due to the existence of Jupiter, when they enter the inner galaxy, they will be pulled by strong gravity. These dragged asteroids will either directly hit Jupiter and become dust, or they will deviate from their original orbit and cannot pose a threat to the Earth. Some have become permanent moons of Jupiter.
You know that Jupiter has 64 satellites, most of which are pulled by gravity. If there is no Jupiter here, a large number of asteroids will enter the inner galaxy unhindered, and the probability of the Earth being hit by asteroids will double. An asteroid impact will not have much impact on the earth, but it is definitely an extinction disaster for life.
I believe many of my friends still remember the incident of a comet colliding with Jupiter in 1994. It was the first time in human history that a collision of celestial bodies in the solar system was directly observed. If this comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit Jupiter and collided with the earth in the inner galaxy, it would be a terrible and devastating disaster. This kind of disaster occurred once 4 billion years ago. The impact The resulting fragments formed the later moon.
According to scientists’ observations, a total of 51 asteroid impacts on Jupiter occurred in just six years from 2010 to 2016. It can be seen that in the solar system, asteroids are very restless, they are constantly trying to enter the inner galaxy. Without the protection of Jupiter, the fate of the earth can be imagined.
2. The guardian around me: the moon
I believe everyone is more familiar with the moon. The first thing that humans will detect after they walk out of the earth is Jupiter. In the late 1960s, the last world was interested in manned landing on the moon. With the continuous exploration of the moon by human probes, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of the moon.
Through the observation of the moon, we will find that there are countless dense craters on the surface. These craters are all produced by asteroid impacts. If there is no moon, some of these asteroids will have a high probability of directly hitting the earth, thus bringing a devastating blow to the evolution of life on the earth.
In addition to protecting the earth from asteroid impact, the moon also has a major function, which is to slow down the earth. In the early days, the earth’s rotation speed was very fast, and it was only a few hours a day. Until the birth of the moon, its relatively large mass had a relatively large impact, thus holding the earth. There was a very obvious tidal phenomenon.
This gravitational force keeps the earth’s rotation speed down until it forms a 24-hour-a-day rotation cycle. If there is no moon, then one day on the earth will become several hours now. This kind of cycle is extremely unfavorable to the evolution of life. Even if life can evolve, it may not be possible to finally give birth to human beings.
3. The protector who is ignored by people: the heliosphere
The sun is the core of the solar system, and the birth of life on the earth is closely related to it. In the eyes of many people, the sun has brought suitable light and heat to the earth, thus allowing the earth to form a stable ecosystem and have the basis for the birth of life.
However, when Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 reached the edge of the solar system, they discovered extremely unusual phenomena at the edge of the solar system. There is a “protective cover” at the edge of the solar system. This protective cover was predicted by the great scientist Tesla. So how did this protective cover come from? It is actually formed by the collision between the solar wind and the particle flow of the outer interstellar.
The solar wind is formed by a stream of particles released by the sun. It starts from the sun and continuously extends to the edge of the solar system. Planets with magnetic fields will form very dazzling aurora when the solar wind passes by. There is a limit to the extension of the solar wind, where it collides with particle streams from all directions in the universe.
The collision will produce an interface, forming a huge bubble that envelops the solar system. It can be said that this is a natural energy shield that protects the solar system. This bubble is called the “photosphere” by scientists. It can protect the solar system from various cosmic rays and high-speed particle streams from the starry sky.
We all know that life on earth has very weak resistance to all kinds of radiation and rays in the universe. If it were not for the absence of a magnetic field, the solar wind would also cause great harm to life. The cosmic radiation and particle streams from outside the solar system are even more powerful. Once they come to the earth, they will cause devastating damage to the life on the earth. Therefore, the heliosphere is a “protector” of the earth that we ignore.
It is precisely because of the existence of the above three “protective gods” that the earth has a stable enough external environment for us to nurture life. When mankind has not become an interstellar civilization and can cross the galaxy, mankind is very weak. Any drastic changes in the internal environment and the external environment can allow us to embark on the road to the end. Therefore, mankind must work hard to develop science and technology quickly and become an interstellar civilization as soon as possible. At that time, we can leave the earth and escape the solar system clouds and interstellar exploration.