243: Chapter 243: Asteroids Won't Hit Earth

Xiao Yu was silent for 2.5 seconds before breaking free from her previous emotions. "Brother, whether it's the Planet X you mentioned earlier, or the exploded twin brother of Mars; how is it that I feel our Solar System is particularly unusual?"

"As for the Asteroid Belt, did it naturally fail to form a planet, or did it really explode? If it exploded, did it blow itself up, or was it done by that advanced civilization you mentioned?"

"What are the respective probabilities for these?"

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly, "Feeling that it's unusual, are you?"

Xiao Yu nodded repeatedly.

Jiang Zhe raised his hand to check his watch; it was past 10 PM, so he could talk a bit more.

"As for the probability of it being an advanced civilization!"

"You must first take your eyes off Mars and look at the entire Solar System; after looking, you will have your own answer in your heart."

He sat up straight, his tone becoming serious again, "Next, brother will inventory for you just how unusual the Solar System is."

"First, the orbital intervals of the planets in the Solar System are as precise as if they were measured with a ruler."

Jiang Zhe picked up the tablet and found the Formula A he had just written.

"Do you still remember this Formula A—0.4, 0.7, 1.0, 1.6, 2.8, 5.2, 9.5, 19.2, 38.8; these numbers are the spacing ranges of a star within the Solar System, perfectly corresponding to all orbital positions from Mercury to Neptune."

"The only problem is, at the 2.8 position, there should have been a planet. Now there is only a pile of rubble."

He nodded slightly and began to ask rhetorically, "Xiao Yu, do you know how rare this kind of pattern is in the Milky Way? Astronomers have observed thousands of exoplanetary systems, and not one can fit into such a simple mathematical formula."

"Our Solar System is the only one!"

"What is this like?"

"It's as if the speed of light were 300,000 km/s only in the Milky Way, while outside the Milky Way, the speed of light could be 400,000 km/s or 600,000 km/s; it is very unnatural!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu and the viewers pondered carefully and felt an illusion of being orchestrated.

Mathematics does not lie!!!

"Second, the positions of the giant planets seem to have been calculated."

Jiang Zhe operated the tablet to pull up a structural diagram of the Solar System.

"Look at other star systems. Those hot Jupiters are orbiting right next to their stars, practically roasting the planets; why? Because they migrated inward during their formation."

"But our Solar System? Jupiter and Saturn stay steadily in the middle ring. Their position is exactly the outer boundary of the Asteroid Belt and acts as the guardian of Earth."

Xiao Yu frowned and asked, "Guardian? I know it's a guardian, but what exactly did it protect?"

"In 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9."

"Who was that comet originally going to hit? Was it Earth? It could have been Earth. Was it just passing by? It could have been passing by; no one knows for sure. But when it passed by Jupiter, it was torn into 21 fragments by Jupiter's gravity and eventually crashed onto Jupiter's face."

As he recounted this, he shook his head slightly, "And any single one of those fragments had power exceeding the sum of all human nuclear weapons. If it had hit Earth, you and I wouldn't be sitting here chatting, nor would we be catching up on lessons."

Hearing this incident instantly stirred the memories of the older generation.

"Damn, I know this. I was on a business trip in Japan. The streets were empty, and NASA was broadcasting it live!"

"I was in Europe at the time. NASA broadcast the whole thing. Jupiter was smashed with several craters the size of Earth!"

"Brother is too conservative. Don't doubt it; the original trajectory of this star was aimed at hitting Earth; it ended up being torn apart by Jupiter's gravity."

"Hey, you, calling a 25-year-old 'brother'—I see your profile says you're 64."

"So what? My mental age is 18, is that not allowed?"

"Fine, fine, you naughty little younger brother!"

"..."

On the big screen, Jiang Zhe's explanation continued: "Third, the Kuiper Belt—the protective wall of the Solar System."

Jiang Zhe pulled up a structural diagram of the outer Solar System and pointed to that ring of fuzzy halo.

"What is the Kuiper Belt?"

"It is a collection of icy small celestial bodies, extending from Neptune's orbit outward to several hundred astronomical units."

"It does two things."

"First, it is the boundary wall of the Solar System. Interstellar radiation and cosmic rays coming from outside are largely blocked by it and the heliosphere."

"Second, it is an ammunition depot and a buffer zone. Comets from the Oort Cloud have to pass through it to get in. Those that can't make it stay there. If they do pass through—they will be pulled and torn apart by the gravity of Jupiter near us and fall into Jupiter."

"If, by chance, a naughty asteroid makes it through, it still has to encounter another barrier: the Moon!"

"Right, and if it's lucky enough to avoid the Moon, the naughty asteroid still has to experience Earth's active atmosphere, where it will be disintegrated, and we will witness a brilliant meteor shower!"

Speaking of this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, "Xiao Yu, count it yourself, how many barriers are there?"

"What is the ratio of meteorite impacts Earth encounters compared to meteorite impacts encountered elsewhere?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yu and the viewers couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

There is no need to calculate, no need for specific data...

Whenever a lucky asteroid manages to reach Earth, 99% of them are worn away in the atmosphere.

Looking at it this way, it is terrifyingly thought-provoking!

Jiang Zhe looked at Xiao Yu's shocked expression and continued to explain: "If there were no wall on the outermost periphery, the probability of Earth being hit by a comet would be at least ten times higher than it is now."

"Next, the fourth, there is one more thing in the Solar System called a cosmic bubble."

Jiang Zhe operated the tablet and brought up the latest astronomical news from last year.

"A 2024 study suggests that about three million years ago, a supernova exploded 160 light-years away from us."

"The shockwave from the explosion swept through the Solar System and blew away one-third of all small dust particles in the Kuiper Belt."

Xiao Yu was stunned, "This, blowing away the dust in the Kuiper Belt, isn't that a bad thing?"

"For Earth, it's not a bad thing." Jiang Zhe shook his head gently, "After that dust was blown away, the cosmic rays entering the Solar System actually decreased. It's like a giant fan blowing away the dust at our doorstep. Is that good or bad for us?"

Xiao Yu swallowed her saliva, "It's a good thing!"

"Yes, but how low is the probability of such a thing?"

"The location, timing, and direction of the supernova explosion just happened to clean the Solar System without hurting Earth!"

"Do you think this is a coincidence?"

Xiao Yu was silent, feeling that any rebuttal seemed meaningless at this moment.

"Fifth, there is one more thing—the Moon."

Jiang Zhe continued to slide the tablet, pulling up the Earth-Moon system diagram.

"The current mainstream theory for the formation of the Moon is a giant impact; a Mars-sized celestial body hit the primordial Earth many billions of years ago, then Earth's fragments were thrown out and eventually gathered into the Moon."

"But there is also a problem with this. According to the traditional astronomical model of the Moon's formation, most of the fragments produced by such an impact should have fallen back to Earth or been thrown out of orbit."

"Now, the probability of it just happening to gather into a satellite of the right size, at the right distance, and capable of stabilizing Earth's rotation axis is low to what extent?"

He paused for 2.5 seconds and shook his head, "Low to the point that astronomers are embarrassed to write it in their papers."

Watching this scene, inside the National Astronomical Observatory.

Director Wang, Professor Zhang Qinian, and the researchers looked at each other and laughed at themselves.

Although the formation of the Moon is just a hypothesis, even in the astronomical community, no one is certain that the Moon was formed this way.

Anyway, there is no answer, so we try our best to create a reasonable answer, even if it is not correct!

On the big screen, Jiang Zhe continued slowly: "Sixth, there is also that Planet X."

Jiang Zhe brought up the orbital anomaly diagram outside the Kuiper Belt.

"The orbits of those trans-Neptunian objects, dozens of them all squeezing in one direction, cannot be explained by randomness."

"The only explanation is that there is a huge gravitational source outside, pulling them along."

"And!"

"That bulge at the North Pole of Mars, if it was left by tidal locking, is the star that held it still there? If it is there, where is it?"

He asked rhetorically with a serious face: "Could it be that Planet X?"

Xiao Yu's eyes drooped, and she was completely unable to speak, immersed in the face of this ironclad evidence!

"Seventh, the biggest mystery of the Solar System is that it has no Super-Earth."

Jiang Zhe continued to operate the tablet and pulled up a distribution map of exoplanets.

"Astronomers have observed thousands of star systems and found a pattern: most star systems have a type of planet called a Super-Earth, which, as the name implies, has a mass two to ten times that of Earth and is located between Earth and Neptune."

"This kind of planet is everywhere in the Milky Way; but what about the Solar System?"

"Our Solar System doesn't have one."

"Our inner Solar System has four small rocky planets; the outer Solar System has four large gaseous planets."

"In between, it is clean, there is nothing, and there is no so-called Super-Earth!"

"Do you know what this means?"

Xiao Yu shook her head gently, the thirst for knowledge in her eyes growing stronger.

"This means that according to the theory of planet formation, the Solar System should have had a planet between Mars and Jupiter—that is, the position of the asteroid fragment belt of the twin Mars that brother mentioned just now. In essence, that should have been a Super-Earth!!!"

He held up a finger, his expression becoming increasingly stern, "But now there is only a pile of rubble there, as if something cleaned it up before it could grow, or perhaps it was destroyed after it grew!"

With the falling of this series of words, Xiao Yu and the viewers frowned deeply.

There should have been a [Super-Earth] there, and facts prove that there is indeed only an Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, and no Super-Earth.

If it were a Super-Earth...

That would be reasonable, but there is only an Asteroid Belt there!!!

"Damn!"

"I have goosebumps."

"The more brother talks, the more I feel I learned fake astronomy."

"Damn, the Solar System is really, freaking special!"

"..."

Jiang Zhe looked at Xiao Yu's solemn expression and continued to explain: "There is too much evidence, brother will give one last point!"

"Eighth!"

Jiang Zhe's finger slid across the tablet, and a comparison image appeared on the screen; this is a simulation image and research data of a red dwarf.

"This is the research data of red dwarfs, the most common stars in the universe, accounting for more than 70% of the total."

"But the latest statistics in the astronomical community have found that less than 2% of red dwarfs possess a large planet at the Jupiter level."

"Why?"

"Because to form a gas giant as large as Jupiter, you need enough material, a stable enough orbit, and enough time."

"Most star systems simply cannot meet these conditions."

"But we have it. Not only do we have Jupiter, we also have Saturn, and their just-right positions."

"It's like someone calculated it in advance—calculated that a guardian was needed here, calculated that a Solar System city wall was needed there, and after calculating everything, it was only then possible for life to be born on Earth. All these parameters are just enough for humans to appear."

"But the problem is!"

He nodded slightly, his brows furrowed, looking at Xiao Yu, "Who calculated it?"

"Xiao Yu, put all these together—the planetary orbits are as if measured with a ruler; Jupiter's position is the third protective shield before Earth, the second is the Moon, and the first is Earth's atmosphere; the Kuiper Belt is the city wall of the Solar System; a supernova just happened to help us clean our doorstep; the Moon just happened to be hit into its current state; Planet X just happens to exist; the ordering of the Solar System is an outlier in the Milky Way, and even the most common red dwarfs cannot grow a guardian like Jupiter!"

"Xiao Yu, now, you answer brother, is this Solar System really natural?"

"Even if a naughty asteroid has a chance to come to Earth, wouldn't it encounter that little thing from Chelyabinsk, which caught up with the meteorite from behind, pierced through the meteorite, and then walked away unscathed?"

"This..." Xiao Yu swallowed her saliva and shook her head vigorously, "Not natural; it's simply not natural... It's just, it's just like—"

Speaking of this, she stopped completely, not daring to continue.

But everyone knew what she wanted to say.

All the viewers, teachers, and experts frowned, feeling their scalps tingle, and a sense of relief arose spontaneously.

Jiang Zhe nodded gently.

This in his past life was called the "Rare Earth Hypothesis"—everything is just right, which allows for everything today to form.

Of course, conversely, there is also the "Mediocre Earth Hypothesis"—it is precisely because everything is just right, and the conditions are too harsh, that led to the birth of Earth and the birth of life.

Even in his past life, this was a theory that was 50/50, and no one could guarantee it.

[The Rare Earth Hypothesis is correct.]

[The Mediocre Earth Hypothesis is correct.]

In Jiang Zhe's view, if there are more than 3 coincidences, it is no longer a coincidence, but a design!!!

Suddenly, Xiao Yu stood up with a start, her face full of excitement, "Brother, wait, brother!"

"Hmm?"

"Sumerian Civilization!!!" Xiao Yu suddenly thought of something, "The people of the Sumerian Civilization saw the eight planets six thousand years ago. On the Sumerian star map you showed me before, there was another planet that modern astronomy hasn't found. The position of that [missing planet] on the star map given by the Sumerian Civilization is exactly between Mars and Jupiter, that is, on the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter!"

The sudden memory attacked Xiao Yu, causing her thoughts to surge suddenly.

"Brother, it can't be, this isn't a coincidence, right?"

Xiao Yu couldn't help but swallow her saliva, her beautiful eyes full of shock.

Hearing this, countless viewers lit up. That's right, brother said before that as early as six thousand years ago, before the appearance of astronomical telescopes, the people of the Sumerian Civilization observed the eight planets...

These words from Xiao Yu made the live broadcast room, which was thought to be over, quiet for a few seconds, and the barrage came frantically like a tide!