Why is Jupiter called Earth’s bodyguard?
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Hiring, indeed, is all you need. You're listening to Brains On, where we're serious about being curious. Brains On is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Ah, lunchtime at Brains On headquarters. Is there anything more delightful than enjoying a nice, soggy sandwich in the confines of this windowless break room? Oh, hey, Mark.

Hi, Molly. Geez, you're hungry. What do you have for lunch today? Beans. Beans? Any particular kind? Oh, all kinds. Black, baked, garbanzo, lima, navy, pinto. Why beans? I want to be like Jupiter. Elaborate? I read somewhere that Jupiter is like Earth's bodyguard. Like a protector.

It stops big space rocks from hitting us. And I thought Brains on HQ could use somebody like that. I want to be the one who protects this place. But why the beans? Well, you know how Jupiter is a gas giant?

That's where the beans come in. Because you know what they say, beans, beans, they're good for your heart. The more you eat, the more you... Oh, Mark, it's nice that you want to protect headquarters, but that's not... I mean, Jupiter isn't made of that kind of gas. Well, I'm also not a multi-billion year old planet, Molly. Sometimes you've got to work with what you have. Yeah!

I suppose so, but I think I'll eat my lunch at my desk today. See ya, Mark. See ya! Ah, lunchtime. Oh, hey, Mark. Hi, Ruby. Man, that's a lot of beans you got there. Are you becoming a gas giant so you can be like Jupiter and protect brains on HQ? Thank you. Finally, someone who gets me. Classic Mark. ♪

You're listening to Brains On from 8pm Studios. I'm Molly Bloom and my co-host today is Rita from Long Island, New York. Hi, Rita. Hi, Molly. Today we've got our metaphorical telescopes aimed at Jupiter.

Jupiter is the oldest planet in our solar system. It formed only a million years after the Sun and millions of years before Earth. So, Jupes is like the oldest child in the planet family. Yeah, and it's the biggest. If it were hollow, you could fit 1,000 Earths in there.

Or, if the planets were fruit, Jupiter would be a watermelon and Earth a cherry tomato. Jupiter is mostly gas and looks like it's covered in orange, brown, and cream-colored stripes. Those stripes are actually ginormous, swirly storm clouds. Jupiter is truly epic, and today we're answering this question about it from Asher. Hi, my name is Asher from Edmonds, Washington. I've heard Jupiter is Earth's bodyguard.

What does that mean? So, Rita, Asher wants to know what it means for Jupiter to be Earth's bodyguard. What comes to mind when you hear that question? I picture Jupiter like being a force field for Earth and protecting it from like any harm, like how a bodyguard and a celebrity would be. Totally. And would you say that you're a fan of outer space?

Yeah, I really like outer space and it really intrigues me, but it also scares me from time to time. Me too. What is it about space that scares you? For me, even though like it's like unknown and I find it interesting, I think just like the unknown scares me because it's so open and so big and it looks so empty and you can't hear anything. And it's just, I don't know, it kind of freaks me out. Mm hmm.

Yeah, I think for me, I like the idea of like going out there, seeing stuff, microgravity floating around seems really cool. But when I think about like how big space is and how it goes on forever, I feel a funny feeling in my stomach. I agree. Yeah.

The bodyguard question comes from the idea that Jupiter might be out there protecting Earth from things like comets and asteroids and keeping them from hitting us. Comets and asteroids are things out in space between planets. They can range in size from about six feet wide to dozens of miles wide.

Small space rocks enter our atmosphere pretty often, but they usually burn up before they can make it to Earth's surface. A big one could spell trouble, though. Scientists think ancient dinosaurs went extinct after a large asteroid hit Earth about 66 million years ago. Luckily for us, scientists also think it's very unlikely anything like that will happen again in the foreseeable future.

Whew. And that's where Jupiter comes in. There's an idea out there that Jupiter, with its super strong gravity, is pulling in lots of comets and asteroids so they crash there instead of on Earth. Oh, Rita, we gotta go. We're supposed to be at a taping of Pop Planet. Oh, the talk show where Star E. Knight interviews famous objects in space? The episode where the moon did a duet with Ariana Grande is my fave. I've always wanted to be in the audience for a taping. Yes.

Yeah. Today, Star is interviewing Earth and Jupiter about this very topic. We need to be there in 10 minutes. 10 minutes? But it's halfway across town. We'll never make it. Yes, we will. All you need is a quick travel transition, like this. Ta-da! Just in time. Wow. Can I borrow that transition for getting to school on Mondays? Sure thing.

Audience, please stand by. We'll be taping shortly. Whoa, it's so exciting to be here in a TV studio. The lights, the cameras, the popcorn, the chips, the hard-shelled tacos. No eating on set. Your crunching is coming through all the mics. Don't. In trouble for my love of salty crunchies. Okay, quiet on set. We're rolling in five, three... It's starting. Yay.

Hello and welcome to Pop Planet! The only show that gets you up close and personal with space. I'm your host, Star E. Knight! Today, we've got action, we've got drama, we've got gas! A gas giant, that is. We'll be talking to Jupiter!

But first, let's welcome another guest. Say hello to Earth. Oh my gosh. Hi, everyone. So, Earth, how have you been? Pretty good. Been working on myself, you know, taking spin classes, long walks around the sun, trying to embrace both the light and dark side of my personality.

Oh, and providing a home to trillions and trillions of living things. Sounds like a lot of pressure. Uh, it is. You can't imagine how stressful it is being the only known planet with life. It's so precious. I can't let anything happen to my trillions and trillions of little babies. What a devoted planet, huh, folks?

Speaking of taking care, there's been some chatter that you've actually got a special protector. Who, Batman? He isn't real. My humans made him up. No, I meant Jupiter! Ah, yes, Jupiter. You know, it's really amazing. In fact, I'm pretty sure Jupiter is protecting me from asteroid impacts at this very moment.

Such a hero. Really the Batman of the solar system. Intriguing! So, what makes you think Jupiter is protecting you? Well, Star, it all started after Shoemaker-Levy 9. Shoemaker what now? Is that a new Marvel movie?

No, no, Star. Shoemaker-Levy 9 was a comet. My humans discovered it in the 1990s using those telescope things they love. They think Jupiter used its powerful gravity to pull that comet in so it crashed on Jupiter instead of me. What a champ. Am I right? Indeedy. We'll hear more after this break. Cameras are off. Take five, everybody.

So interesting about that comet. What was it called again? Shoemaker-Levay 9. It's a cool story, actually. The year was 1994. Shoemaker-Levay 9 was a comet hurtling through space. Ooh, I love a hurtling comet. It's believed at one point Shoemaker-Levay 9 was about a mile wide. If it hit Earth, it could have wiped out much of life on the planet. But wait, I'm life on the planet. This won't do.

Well, luckily, there was a different planet in its path, Jupiter. Thanks to Jupiter's massive gravity, the comet was pulled into the mega planet.

It smashed into the surface and kicked up dust clouds almost 2,000 miles high. The drama, the action, this has all the makings of a celestial summer blockbuster. Some scientists start to think maybe Jupiter does this a lot. Maybe Jupiter is constantly drawing in comets and asteroids, or even pulling them off course and flinging them into the far reaches of space.

Ooh, like a slingshot. So that's how Jupiter got the reputation of being a giant space shield. Yeah, but that's just one side of the story. There's definitely some drama coming. Dun, dun, dun! The intrigue, the suspense, the mystery. I can't wait to hear about it. But first, another mystery. It's time to test your ears with a... All right. Are you ready for the mystery sound, Rita? Yes. Okay, here it is.

What do you think? That was so interesting. I think I have two options. Either it's like a Sharpie, like someone's trying to draw with a Sharpie, but it's like getting stuck on the paper. Or it kind of sounds like an animal sound. Yes, I can hear both of those. Do you want to hear it again? Yeah, sure. Okay. Okay. What do you think? I think I still have like those two options, but I kind of hear like

Water in the background? I'm not sure. Interesting. Okay. We'll hear it again, get another chance to guess and hear the answer at the end of the show or right after the credits. So stick around. ♪

We're making an episode about trends and how things become cool. And it got us wondering, what kind of trend would you like to start? Maybe you think it would be funny if everyone started wearing their shirts inside out. Or you want to make it totally in to paint your fingernails neon orange. What do you think, Rita? What trend would you like to start?

I've put a lot of thought into this. I think I would want to start normalizing ball gowns and princess dresses everywhere. Yes, like to the mall, to school. Yeah, like if anyone wants to dress up and become a pretty little princess or a pretty little prince, they could go to school in like a cute outfit and it would be really cute. I am all for this trend. That sounds wonderful.

Listeners, record a description of the trend you'd like to start and send it to us at brainson.org slash contact. While you're there, send us your mystery sounds, drawings, and questions. Like this one. Hi, Brainson. My name is Sophia. I'm from Lexington, Kentucky. And if dragons were real, how would they fly around and breathe fire? You can find answers to questions like these on the Moment of Um podcast.

And keep listening.

Listen, I will play you forever ago now. You will love. Homing pigeons were a speedy way to deliver messages to military bases. Some pigeons could fly hundreds of miles in a single day, zipping through the air as fast as 60 miles per hour. That's so fast for such a tiny bird. These pigeons delivered life-saving messages throughout the war. Zorp! Where did the signal go?

Listen to Forever Ago wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode is sponsored by Gab. Parents, I'm sure you've noticed how your kid looks at your phone. They see us staring at it. It's a big part of our lives and naturally they want one. A

A lot of parents don't want their kids to have a smartphone, with good reason. But some parents want a safe way for kids to be able to communicate with them, the parents, or their friends and family. I want my kid to know how to use smart devices to her benefit without feeling like they're starting to take over. Gab's safety benefits make that approach feel much more doable. Gab is the leader in safe phones and watches for kids, teens, and tweens. With

With no social media apps, no internet browser, and GPS tracking, Gab devices are built specifically to keep kids and teens safely connected. Protecting your kids has never been easier. For the best deals, sign up to Gab today. No contract required at gab.com slash brains on. That's gab, G-A-B-B dot com slash brains on. Gab.com slash brains on. Terms and conditions apply.

Today's episode is sponsored by Greenlight. Who taught you about money? Was it your parents? Your school? Most of us learned about saving and budgeting way later than we should have. But here's the good news. You can give your kids a head start with Greenlight. Greenlight is a debit card and money app made for families that lets kids learn how to save, invest, and spend wisely. I love answering kids' questions, but a lot of time the answer to kids' questions is, I don't know. And I don't know how to answer kids' questions.

And I don't know a lot when it comes to teaching kids about money. So that's why Greenlight is a super helpful tool and one that I'm glad to have. Greenlight is the easy, convenient way for parents to raise financially smart kids and families to navigate life together. Parents can send money to their kids and keep an eye on kids' spending and saving. Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at greenlight.com slash brains on. That's greenlight.com slash brains on to get started.

greenlight.com slash brainson. You're listening to Brains On. I'm Rita. And I'm Molly. Today we're talking about the gas giant planet Jupiter and how it might protect Earth from getting hit by space rocks.

Jupiter's super-strong gravity can suck in comets and asteroids that might have hit Earth and destroy them, or fling them right out of our solar system. That's why some scientists nickname Jupiter Earth's bodyguard, because it protects us from getting hit by stuff in our solar system. We asked you, if you could give a planet a nickname, what would it be? ♪

My name is Kesley from Lake Bluff, Illinois, and if Saturn was a dancer, her nickname would be Saturn. I would nickname Mars Dusty Red because it's dusty and red. And the nickname comes up for Venus is V-Nic. Hi, my name is Clementine. I am from Indio, California, and I am a dancer.

have a nickname for Pluto. I like to call it Pluno because it's not a planet. Hi, I'm Santiago from Melbourne, Australia. My nickname for the second largest planet, Saturn, will be Lord of the Rings. I'm Bronte from Sydney, Australia, and I think Neptune's personality would be sassy and their nickname would be

SW, short for Sonic Wind, because of their super fast winds. Those were amazing. Thanks to Kessley, Cooper, Logan, Clementine, Santiago, and Bronte for sending in your ideas. But now, let's get back to Jupiter. Yeah, Pop Planet is starting again. Okay, people, we're back in 10 seconds. Let's hear it. Four, three... Sonic, Sonic, Sonic...

Welcome back to Pop Planet. Before the break, we had a chat with the lovely Earth here about their bodyguard, Jupiter. But what if I told you that Jupiter might not be as reliable a protector as you've been led to believe?

What if I told you that Jupiter might actually fling comets and asteroids toward Earth? What do you say to that, Earth?

I'd say show me the cold hard scientific proof. Luckily, I happen to have in my hand here some scientific studies that say Jupiter might be doing as much to harm Earth as to help it. Like this study. Scientists ran a computer simulation to see what would happen to Earth if Jupiter didn't exist at all. So like, if there wasn't a planet with mega-gravity to pull in asteroids and comets?

Exactly! This study found that if Jupiter didn't exist, Earth would still be hit with the same number of comets and asteroids as it currently is.

That suggests maybe Jupiter isn't making a difference either way. So what? That's just one study. Here's another one that says that Jupiter might actually be harming you, Earth, by pulling in comets and asteroids from far off in the solar system closer to you.

Those comets and asteroids might otherwise have stayed far away, but Jupiter's pull might be bringing them closer to you. That's not the lovable gassy giant I know. I want to talk to Jupiter. Then it's a good thing it's right backstage. Jupiter! Earth, I can explain. Are you?

Putting me in danger, Jupiter? Earth, look at these scars all over my surface. This one's from a comet, another comet, asteroid, comet. You think I'm pulling these things in for my health? But how do I know those comets and asteroids would have come anywhere near me if you hadn't pulled them in with your gravity, Jupiter?

And what if you actually are pulling in stuff and sending it my way? Look, I'm just a planet with a mega super gravity. I can't help it if my size is affecting the things around me. None of this is personal, Earth. It's just physics. Well, unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today. ♪

Looks like Earth and Jupiter will have to sort this one out on their own. We'll talk to Saturn's moon Enceladus. They say there might be oceans there. Your next beach vacation? We'll find out. This has been Pop Planet. I'm your host, Star E. Knight. Thanks for watching. Cameras are off. Take five, everybody.

Man, that's great stuff. I definitely made the right call on these tickets. What do you mean? I was trying to decide between this and the view, which is just a live feed from the James Webb Space Telescope. Oh yeah, good call. So, I guess we don't really know if Jupiter is protecting Earth or not.

We know that it's pulling some asteroids and comets into it, and they smash on the surface. And sometimes it might draw something toward it, but then slingshot it out into the far reaches of the solar system. But some scientists think Jupiter could also be pulling some things closer to us than they would have been otherwise. With a lot of things in space, it's complicated, and we're still trying to work it all out.

Your alarm. What is it this time? Oh no, the Brains on Dainty Laugh contest is about to start. I can't miss it. I've perfected the daintiest of laughs. That is dainty. Thank you. Let's transition back to the studio. No! What happened? My transition is broken. So we can't magic our way back?

No, we'll just have to use that other form of magic. Public transportation! Quick, to the bus! Jupiter's gravity is really, really strong. That means it can pull objects from space, like comets and asteroids, into its surface. Like it did with the comet Shoemaker-Levayne 9.

And sometimes Jupiter flings space rocks out of our solar system. But scientists think Jupiter might also pull things into our solar system that otherwise wouldn't come anywhere near Earth. If Jupiter didn't exist at all, we might not even notice it was gone. So is Jupiter a good bodyguard for Earth? In some ways, yes. And in other ways, it's hard to say.

That's it for this episode of Brains On. This episode was written by Jess Miller and Sandin Totten. It was edited by Shayla Farzan with fact-checking by me, Molly Bloom.

We had engineering help from Gary O'Keefe and Josh Savageau with sound design and original theme music by Mark Sanchez. We had production help from the rest of the Brains On Universe team. Molly Bloom, Rosie DuPont, Shayla Farzan, Anna Goldfield, Nico Gonzales-Whistler, Ruby Guthrie, Lauren Humpert, Joshua Ray, Mark Sanchez, Sandon Totten, Charlotte Traver, Anna Weigel, and

Aran Waldesalasi. Beth Perlman is our executive producer, and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Sarah Zaidi and Hussein Rizvi, Yusuf Zoya, and Rita's Cousins.

Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. There are lots of ways to support the show. Sign up for the Brains On Universe newsletter for bonus activities, reading recommendations, conversation starters, and more. Head to BrainsOn.org to subscribe. While you're there, you can send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions. Speaking of mystery sounds, you ready to hear that mystery sound again, Rita? Yeah. Okay, here it is.

Here's the last time you thought maybe a whiteboard marker. You heard some water in there. What are you thinking now? I still think it might be an animal like in the water making noises or like maybe a dolphin. Oh, yeah. It does kind of sound dolphin-y, doesn't it? Are you ready for the answer? Yeah, let's do it. Okay.

My name is Akash. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee. That's the sound of me drinking from my water bottle without a straw. Oh, so you did hear water in there. That was absolutely correct. So that sound was kind of like when you sip really fast through a water bottle. It makes that kind of like, I was a little off. You were just a little off, but not too bad. I'm impressed. You've got excellent ears.

Now it's time for the Brain's Honor Roll. These are the incredible kids who keep this show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives. Elsie from Rye, New York. Eveline from Armada, Michigan. Madhavan from Erie, Colorado. Henry from Marshall, Virginia. Liam from Norfolk, Virginia. Caden from Sunnyvale, California. Solomon and Joni from Geneva, New York. Beatrice from Philo, Illinois. Maggie from Alexandria, Virginia. Valoria and Alex from Methune, Massachusetts.

Thank you.

Faye and Xiao Feng from Toronto, Avery from Duluth, Georgia, Ella and Esme from Lake Elsinore, California, Sunshine from Durham, North Carolina, Ben from Maple Grove, Minnesota, Amira from Lincoln, Nebraska, Naomi from Nashville, Charlotte, Elaine from Dayton, Ohio, Arya from Saratoga, California, Alder and Cedar from Oregon City, Ellie from Washington, D.C., Eleanor and Lucy from Illinois, Lily from Liverpool, U.K., Amelia and Oren from Roseville, Minnesota, Leona from Madison, Wisconsin, Julius from Richton Park,

Illinois, Noah from Midland, Texas, Reed from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Lorenzo from Mesquite, Texas, John from Minneapolis, Ben Yacht, Carmen and Hobby from Santa Rosa, California, Melody from Santan Valley, Arizona, Quinn from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, Jacob and Olivia from Buffalo, New York, Henry from Michigan, Oliver and Will from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ella Marie from Prospect Heights, Illinois, Timmy from Folsom, California,

Mark from London, UK. Ellie from Roseville, Minnesota. Emily from Chandler, Arizona. Jackson from Lionel Lakes, Minnesota. Rosemary and Nora from Smithfield, Rhode Island. Eliza from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ian from Raleigh, North Carolina. Shepard from Pamaria, South Carolina. Towns from Houston, Texas. Camille from New Hampshire. Derek from Maryland. Zane from Centennial, Colorado. Virginia from Bonney Lake, Washington. Simon and Seamus from King, North Carolina. Madison and Lucas from Carleton, Oregon. Stella and Scarlett from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. And Arthur from Montreal.

We'll be back next week with an episode all about why salt makes food taste good. Thanks for listening.