How could life on Earth have changed if our planet became a satellite of Jupiter?

Let's try to imagine what would happen,if the Earth suddenly changed its orbit and moved somewhere far away. Ahem ... Say, to Jupiter. I agree, in real life such a scenario is hardly feasible, but ... Sometimes you can just dream up. Most likely, you already know that the beautiful Jupiter has a whole retinue of 80 satellites of different sizes and shapes. The largest of them are 4 Galilean satellites, named after their discoverer, the famous Italian Renaissance astronomer Galileo Galilei.

Ganymede and Earth have a lot in common

Jupiter’s largest moon can rightfully beconsider Ganymede, which in its size is even larger than the fully-fledged planet Mercury. In any case, if the Earth unexpectedly decided to move to the vicinity of Jupiter, it would certainly become its largest satellite, having removed Ganymede from its honorable position.

Once our planet is somehow miraculouslyI would have managed to move to Jupiter, absolutely everything in our life would radically change. Having become a satellite of the planet, whose magnetic field is many times greater than the earth and only slightly inferior to the sun, the Earth would be exposed to the strongest radiation exposure. In order to survive in such conditions, we would have to settle far below the surface of the planet.

Sparks of life under the ice

In addition to the strongest radiation, humanitywould be faced with the terrible cold that reigns in the vicinity of Jupiter and its moons. The remoteness of Jupiter from the Sun and the habitable zone turns its surroundings into a rather cold place with an approximate temperature of -145 degrees Celsius. At such a low temperature, all the oceans of the Earth would almost instantly freeze, turning the planet into one large glacier.

Somewhere far below the surface of the resultingThe ice world could have remained the simplest life in the form of extremophile bacteria, which could receive heat thanks to hot underwater sources. Scientists plan to find such an extreme life on one of the moons of Jupiter, Europe.

However, radiation and low temperatures are notthe only problems we have to face while staying in the moon status of a giant planet. Before completely freezing, the atmosphere of our planet will undergo severe hurricanes and tsunamis. In addition, all 1,500 volcanoes at once wake up on Earth! Due to the fact that the bowels of the Earth will undergo constant friction due to the influence of the gravitational force of Jupiter, the planet for some time may become like a satellite of Jupiter Io.

The proximity of a giant planet has transformed thissmall world into the most seismically active moon in the Solar System. Under tremendous pressure, the interiors of the satellite of Jupiter alternately compress and expand, which is why volcanoes of Io constantly spew hot lava.

As a result of such a scenario, a thick layer of volcanic dust would rise into the Earth’s atmosphere, hiding the already twilight Sun for several years from the eyes of the surviving inhabitants of the planet.

But that is not all!

Planet located in the immediateproximity to Jupiter will be an excellent target for flying past comets and asteroids. The fact is that due to its size, Jupiter is a kind of "airbag" for the planets located in the inner part of the Solar System. Each month, Jupiter and its satellites “catch” up to 60 asteroids, protecting Mercury, Venus, Mars and the Earth from hundreds and thousands of uninvited guests.

See also: What is the probability that an asteroid will fall to Earth?

I think it’s not worth specifying what could happen to the Earth, if it were in such an extremely explosive place!

We can fantasize about what would happen to our planet in such extreme conditions further together in our Telegram chat.