Those with enough interest in NASA, the solar system, and
our closest planetary neighbor should get something out of a rental of Roving Mars.
As the hot Jupiter dashes inward, its gravity ejects any smaller planets near the star, both explaining the absence of
close planetary neighbors and suggesting that solar systems with hot Jupiters are unlikely to host life - bearing worlds resembling Earth.
Not exact matches
So this month's occurrence becomes a historical footnote, a sheer - enjoyment opportunity to watch the clockwork motion of the solar system and to see our nearest
planetary neighbor speeding along in its orbit at the point where it comes
closest to Earth.
In contrast, many hot Neptunes —
close - in giant worlds with roughly 5 % of Jupiter's mass — do have
planetary neighbors.
The moon, our
closest neighbor, remains in many ways a mystery to
planetary scientists — a destination tantalizingly
close, yet frustratingly difficult to reach.
A
neighboring star could wander too
close and gravitationally disrupt a
planetary system, flinging worlds into icy interstellar space.
Yet our
closest celestial
neighbor has been very much on the minds of
planetary scientists, entrepreneurs, archaeologists, and others these days.
In 1991 the
Planetary Camera then onboard the Hubble Space Telescope pointed toward the center of our Milky Way's
closest major galactic
neighbor: Andromeda (M31).