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Scientists have found that the orbit of Jupiter serves as a temporary “parking” for comets moving inside the solar system.
A huge number of ice comets come from the outskirts of the Sun. systems in its internal areas mainly from the Oort Cloud and Belt Kuiper. In addition, their source may be the accumulation of stone and icy asteroids between the orbits of Neptune and Jupiter.
Asteroids periodically approach these planets, which gravity discard them either in the central part of the solar system, or in the Kuiper Belt.
Astronomers believe that asteroids arrive exactly from where they were blocked between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. After several million years from there they fall into the group of “comets Jupiter’s family. ”
It is currently unclear how comets leave the orbit of Jupiter and fall into the center of the solar system. Yet no objects were tracked during such a move. Gal Sarid and his colleagues presented their vision on this issue. from Florida by publishing in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
A group of scientists discovered another “parking”, where at present there are two centaurs, one of which periodically emits a long comet tail. By creating a model of his previous movements, scientists found that this area should fall every fifth object. After a short delay, they, falling under Jupiter’s gravitational impact, gain acceleration and heading toward the sun like an ordinary comet.
According to researchers, one of the centaurs (SW1) should make a “transfer” to the center of the solar system in 4 thousand years, and in his place will come another “wanderer”.
The planet Jupiter has long been considered by astronomers to be a “protector.” of our planet. The giant planet, due to its mass, takes on impacts of asteroids and comets that fall from the periphery Solar system.
Andrey Vetrov
Neptune Time Solar System Jupiter
