# Why Don't We Get Nailed More Often? (Jupiter v. Earth) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755 "2009-07-21T17:51:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ourrah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ourrah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ourrah)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/1 "2009-07-21T17:51:46Z")
So Jupiter gets nailed about once every 15 years, [apparently](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534160,00.html). Why doesn’t Earth get more action? Are we just incredibly lucky or Jupiter incredibly unlucky? ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/2 "2009-07-21T17:53:17Z")
Size matters, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/3 "2009-07-21T17:57:41Z")
According to wiki, Jupiter occupies a volume the equivalent of 1321 Earths, and has a mass 317 greater than Earth. I guess Earth doesn’t look all that appealing to suicidal comets and asteroids. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/4 "2009-07-21T18:01:47Z")
Paging **Angua** to explain it all. ---
**Author:** ![Ourrah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ourrah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ourrah)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/5 "2009-07-21T18:19:27Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > According to wiki, Jupiter occupies a volume the equivalent of 1321 Earths, and has a mass 317 greater than Earth. I guess Earth doesn’t look all that appealing to suicidal comets and asteroids. Even so, Earth hasn’t had anything even come relatively close to it that I know of like Jupiter has had (at least) twice in such a short period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/6 "2009-07-21T18:26:52Z")
One reason is that we have big ol’ Jupiter and Saturn out there to sweep up any debris that happens to be floating through the neighborhood. Thanks, big guys! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/7 "2009-07-21T18:28:33Z")
> [@JerseyFrank](#): > > Size matters, I guess. Win on all levels. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/8 "2009-07-21T18:36:10Z")
> [@Ourrah](#): > > Even so, Earth hasn’t had anything even come relatively close to it that I know of like Jupiter has had (at least) twice in such a short period of time. > **[Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Video](https://www.foxnews.com/)** > > Breaking News, Latest News and Current News from FOXNews.com. Breaking news and video. Latest Current News: U.S., World, Entertainment, Health, Business, Technology, Politics, Sports. > **[Center for NEO Studies](https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov)** > > NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) web-site. Data related to Earth impact risk, close-approaches, and much more. google “near miss asteroids”. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/9 "2009-07-21T18:45:27Z")
Also, isn’t the asteroid belt alot closer to Jupiter? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/10 "2009-07-21T18:46:52Z")
Jupiter sucks worse than Earth? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/11 "2009-07-21T20:03:29Z")
There’s a menstruation / Red Spot joke in here somewhere waiting to be told. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/12 "2009-07-21T20:09:33Z")
\*\*Smeghead \*\*nails it in one - IANAAstrophysicist, but I remember from my rabid amateur astronomy days that there’s a hypothesis out there stipulating that the giants Jupiter and Saturn (to a lesser extent) act like giant dustcatchers, hoovering up all the nasties that would otherwise find their way to the inner solar system. IIRC, some even postulated that without a Jupiter, life might never have arisen on Earth because of the greater bombardment. Some go even further to postulate that all solar systems need a Jupiter in order for life. That said, we _do_ get nailed every day. Happily, the vast majority are teeny and cause little or no damage. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/13 "2009-07-21T20:13:00Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > That said, we _do_ get nailed every day. Speak for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/14 "2009-07-21T20:16:47Z")
I JUST noticed how the title of this thread fit all of the jokes… ---
**Author:** ![Ourrah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ourrah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ourrah)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/15 "2009-07-21T20:18:57Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > the giants Jupiter and Saturn (to a lesser extent) act like giant dustcatchers Their ability to do so is so powerful galaxy wide that it catches just about everything along the lines of Shoemaker-Levy? I’ve heard that as well but criminy that’s a lot of space we’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/16 "2009-07-21T20:28:15Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > google “near miss asteroids”. [QUOTE=George Carlin] “When two planes almost collide, they call it a near miss. IT’S A NEAR HIT! A collision is a near miss. POOOF, look, they nearly missed. YES, BUT NOT QUITE!!!” [/QUOTE] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/17 "2009-07-21T20:29:01Z")
> [@Ourrah](#): > > Their ability to do so is so powerful galaxy wide that it catches just about everything along the lines of Shoemaker-Levy? I’ve heard that as well but criminy that’s a lot of space we’re talking about. Apparently. Jupiter’s gigantic - if anything small comes in its neighborhood (and it’s a big neighborhood), its course will change due to Jupiter’s gravity. Shoemaker-Levy was affected by Jupiter a full year before it smacked into the planet. It doesn’t necessarily have to get captured by Jupiter; in most cases, just the course alteration is enough to send whatever it is hurtling harmlessly in a different direction from the inner planets. > [@Smeghead](#): > > Speak for yourself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/18 "2009-07-21T20:48:07Z")
> [@Ourrah](#): > > Their ability to do so is so powerful galaxy wide that it catches just about everything along the lines of Shoemaker-Levy? I’ve heard that as well but criminy that’s a lot of space we’re talking about. Well, Jupiter has had some 3.5 billion or so years to sweep up the solar system. It had a clear 1.5 billion years (give or take) to clean things up before the first life of almost any sort appeared on Earth. The solar system is now largely cleaned up and most things are in stable orbits so we no longer sit in a shooting gallery. Yeah, there is still stuff out there that could hit us but not as bad as it once was. To have an idea of how much the Earth may have been hit over time just look at this picture of the [far side of the moon](http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/oconnell/astr121/im/moon-farside-full-A16.jpg). ETA: Saw **Cisco** ’s answer below. Hope you meant “solar system” wide. The galaxy has little to do with this. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/19 "2009-07-21T20:49:02Z")
> [@Ourrah](#): > > Their ability to do so is so powerful galaxy wide that it catches just about everything along the lines of Shoemaker-Levy? I’ve heard that as well but criminy that’s a lot of space we’re talking about. Galaxy-wide? Most, if not statistically all, comets and asteroids come from within the Oort Cloud. Of this I am almost completely sure, unless my astronomy professor mislead me. Jupiter catches a lot of shit because it is many, many, many times more “attractive” (in the gravitational sense) than Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Ourrah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ourrah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ourrah)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755/20 "2009-07-21T21:10:06Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > ETA: Saw **Cisco** ’s answer below. Hope you meant “solar system” wide. The galaxy has little to do with this. Yup. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-get-nailed-more-often-jupiter-v-earth/503755.md?page=2)