Earth nearly became uninhabitable because of another planet.

(NLĐO) - The Solar System nearly had a ninth planet. If that had happened, we might not be on Earth anymore.

The Solar System has a giant ring of debris consisting of countless asteroids and small meteoroids, located between Mars and Jupiter.

They once had the potential to coalesce into a super-Earth-like planet as the solar system gradually formed – even failed planetary cores have been discovered here, such as the "yellow asteroid" Psyche – but that didn't happen.

A study from the Florida Institute of Technology (USA) examined a second scenario for the solar system: what if another planet could be born between Mars and Jupiter.

A super-Earth in the solar system could be a "death sentence" for life on our planet - Graphic image: SCITECH DAILY

Writing in the journal Icarus, the authors point out that if a planet could form there instead of the asteroid belt, it would be a super-Earth.

That's the kind of planet we've encountered a lot in other star systems. But a large planet could potentially cause harmful changes to the system's structure.

When simulating a planet with a mass 10 times that of Earth, the authors point out that this would cause the four inner planets to have high tilts and eccentricities.

Those four planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

High slopes and eccentricities can lead to dangerous temperature differences between seasons.

Additionally, a planet between Mars and Jupiter could create an interaction that pushes Earth closer to Venus.

Although Venus is also located within the habitable zone of the solar system, it is quite close to the inner boundary rather than in the extremely favorable center like Earth.

That poses a significant risk to the survival of life on the planet. Life might still develop, but in a different form, not like us.

Although theoretical, these observations could help astrobiologists predict how and where life might exist in other planetary systems.

This research also provides insight into the size of a super-Earth that could be reached before the possibility of life existing around it becomes unsustainable.

Therefore, it could be said that we are very lucky that Psyche is merely a "failed planet," or that objects like Ceres are simply dwarf planets.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/trai-dat-suyt-khong-co-su-song-vi-mot-hanh-tinh-khac-196250310114302578.htm