Did life on Earth flourish thanks to SATURN? Computer models reveal enormous influence planet has on our orbit

Earth is 365 million miles (588 million km) away from Jupiter and 830 million miles (1.3 billion km) from Saturn.

But these heavyweights of our solar system have a huge influence on what goes on in our planet, and could be to thank for humanity's existence.

The orbits of these planets are keeping our world moving in a circular path at just the right distance from the sun for life to flourish.

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Moving Saturn's orbit just 10 per cent closer to the sun creates a tug that would stretch out Earth's orbit by tens of millions of miles. This view is looking towards the sunlit side of Saturn’s rings from about 25 degrees above the ringplane

Moving Saturn's orbit just 10 per cent closer to the sun creates a tug that would stretch out Earth's orbit by tens of millions of miles.

This is according to Elke Pilat-Lohinger of the University of Vienna, Austria, who has developed computer models to understand how Jupiter and Saturn affected the shape of other planets' orbit

Using a simple model that did not include other inner planets, Professor Pilat-Lohinger found that the greater the tilt, the more the elongation in Earth's orbit, according to a report by Jeff Hecht in the New Scientist.

Jupiter's gravity, which is 2.5 times stronger than that of Earth's, is capable of pulling on other planets in the solar system - including our own.

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When Mars and Venus were added to the model, the orbits of all three planets stabilised slightly, but Saturn's tilt still had a major influence on Earth

When Mars and Venus were added to the model, the orbits of all three planets stabilised slightly, but Saturn's tilt still had a major influence on Earth.

MYSTERY OF 'DEATH STAR' WOBBLE

It is known as the 'Death Star' due to a crater making it look like the Star Wars weapon.

However, astronomers say they are a step closer to solving a mystery that has baffled them for decades about Saturn's moon Mimas.

The moon has an odd wobble - and scientists say its core is is either wonky or awash with water.

It has a tell-tale wobble that is twice as big as expected for a moon with a regular, solid structure.

Mimas is mostly made of ice and has a diameter of 246 miles (396km).

The researchers offer two explanations for the wobble: either it has a vast ocean beneath its surface, or a rocky core with a weird shape resembling a rugby ball. 

Apart from these gentle 'librations', Mimas otherwise presents the same face to Saturn throughout its orbit.

The model found that 20-degree tilt of Saturn would bring the Earth's orbit closer to the sun than Venus. It would also cause Mars to leave the solar system entirely.

In a similar study earlier this year, the University of New South Wales and Royal Holloway University of London, ran various computer models of our solar system.

With each iteration, the planets in the solar system remained in their place while Jupiter moved around in different obits, ranging from circular to elliptical.

The scientists also moved the entire orbit of Jupiter inwards and outwards to test what would have happened if the planet had formed closer to the sun, or further away.

Each simulation was taken through a million year time frame, recording where Earth would have been every 100 years as a result of Jupiter's position.

'The default assumption is this is something that is important,' said Jonti Horner, an astronomer and astrobiologist at the University of Southern Queensland.

'There's a lot of flexibility where Jupiter will be, and you would assume that you'd have a very smooth, very gentle variation in how the Earth's orbit behaves over time.'

While Jupiter's locations resulted in little change in Earth's orbit and tilt, the effect on Earth's climate remained unclear.

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Jupiter's gravity, which is 2.5 times stronger than that of Earth's, is capable of pulling on other planets in the solar system - including our planet