Jupiter's Shifting Orbit Will Make Earth Paradise (or Hell)

Oh, Jupiter. If only the gas giant shifted its orbit slightly, becoming more eccentric (meaning ovalshaped), it could transform the shape of Earth's orbit, too, causing parts of the blue planet to move closer to the sun.

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That, in turn, would mean less unlivable ice-covered regions and the potential for more habitable zones.

That was the focus of a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal. Modeling data from our solar system as we understand it today, University of California, Riverside (UCR) scientists created a theoretical system that slightly altered Jupiter's orbit.

"Many are convinced that Earth is the epitome of a habitable planet and that any change in Jupiter's orbit, being the massive planet it is, could only be bad for Earth," Pam Vervoort, a UCR Earth and planetary scientist and lead author of the study, said in a news release.