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March 25, 2011

Strange But True!

Q. According to the “rare Earth hypothesis,” what makes the Earth so rare?

A. It has taken more than 4 billion years of evolution on a quiet, stable planet orbiting a quiet, unusually stable star to provide the steady warmth our species and civilization require, says John Gribbin in “30-Second Theories,” edited by Paul Parsons. Our giant neighbor Jupiter helps protect the Earth from cometary bombardment, vacuuming up these icy objects before they get to us. Even so, several major terrestrial catastrophes have occurred, including the extinction of the dinosaurs. Without Jupiter, it's doubtful that intelligent life would have had sufficient time to evolve on Earth.


 
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