How do Jupiter and the Moon affect the habitability of Earth?
What will be an ideal response?
Jupiter occasionally perturbs asteroids into Earth-crossing orbits, decreasing the habitability of Earth. However, Jupiter also acts to shield Earth from comets that are perturbed from the outer solar system. Jupiter's large gravity well can intercept incoming comets and prevent them from reaching the Earth, increasing Earth's habitability.
The Moon increases the habitability of the Earth by stabilizing the Earth's obliquity. Without the Moon, the Earth could have undergone extreme variations in obliquity, which would have led to extreme seasonal conditions that are detrimental to higher life forms. However, the question is complex because Earth's obliquity is stable as long as Earth's rotation period is less than 12 hours. We don't know what the spin rate would have been in the absence of a Moon-forming impact, so we cannot say whether Earth's obliquity would be stable or chaotic.
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