When I was in the school once I had read that Jupiter just missed from becoming a star! In other words it was a failed star and became a planet!

Jupiter as we know is the largest planet in the solar system, about 2.5 times larger than all other planets put together.. If it had been about 75 times more massive than it is now, then stellar ignition would have started converting it into a star.. On astronomical scales 75 times is a small number

Imagine that when the planetary system formed in our solar system, if Jupiter had got a lot more mass from the Sun what would have happened?

Well, we would have had two stars !! Jupiter as another Sun in the night sky!! Night? Well, if Jupiter were a star in the night sky, then there would have been no night

Would it have been then that we would have had a world free of darkness?

In the case of Jupiter, not really.. because when Jupiter and Sun both were on same side of the earth, then we would have had night on the other side of the earth..

but Yes, when Jupiter and Sun were on different sides of the earth in the sky, the earth would be full of daylight everywhere

Even today, Jupiter gives out more heat than what it receives from the sun, and this is because of its ongoing contraction causing the planet to shrink about 2 cms every year..

More than anything else, what’s more important about Jupiter is that, Jupiter is to earth what Himalayas are to India

Himalayas have stood like a natural fort in the north of India since ages protecting India from the foreign invasions.. Chinese had to build a man made structure called the Great Wall to protect them from outside invasions.. India has a natural Greatest Wall in the form of Himalayas

Similarly Jupiter has been protecting life on Earth from most of the comets and asteroids which otherwise would have threatened life on earth very regularly..

Jupiter has been a protective shield for earth, by attracting most comets towards itself because of its massive gravity. Remember shoemaker levi comet that crashed on Jupiter splitting into pieces ?

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Jupiter’s gravity also splits many large comets into smaller harmless chunks before it reaches earth.. Jupiter is the Great wall of Earth.. no wonder Indians call it Guru

Coming back to Jupiter becoming a star..

Let us see how our earth would have been if solar system was a multi star system.. say with two stars like Sun..

both balanced to be on either side of the earth always

Darkness would have been a thing never known on earth then!

Would fear have evolved without darkness ?? Would the concept of evil would have evolved without darkness ?? How would have been the human psychology in that case? Because there would not have been anything to fear in the night.. you can go anywhere and not worry about coming back before it becomes night, simply because there is no night

As one sun sets in the west, another rises in the east at the same time..

No need of Thomas Alva Edison’s electric bulb!

Lot of energy savings all over the world ! Just imagine how much the energy requirement of all the metros and rest of the world will come down ! How much more cheaper energy will be.. and the same energy saved could be used to fuel vehicles.. prevent a lot of pollution !

Sleep? How would have been the sleep habits of animals, including humans ?

Some people would sleep when Sun 1 came.. some others would sleep when Sun 2 came..

No night shifts.. some work during Sun1day, some work during Sun2day

The only time people see darkness is inside tunnels.. mines.. underground subways and path ways

World is full of brightness.. powered by dual source..

and yes what about moon and the poet ??

what about the beauty of full moon ?

well, to gain something, you have to lose something

wait.. what about stars ?? No stars would be visible..

so how would science have evolved.. I mean astronomy..

initially people would have thought that there are only two stars in the universe.

religious texts would describe how God first created Sun1, then Sun 2, then Earth.

nothing would be known about other planets and stars

Newton would have had a lot of difficulty discovering the laws of Gravity.. because the data known would be more complex because of two stars ..

Scientific discoveries would have been very difficult in physics especially astrophysics and cosmology

What about astrology ? no night sky means no stars.. no constellations visible which means no astrology libra, gemini, aries all gone .. no sun signs.. no birth charts how will match making be done then ?

and does earth rotate around Sun1 or around Sun2 ? Well, even in our current earth – sun like system the planets and sun rotate around their common centre of gravity of the system which due to the heavy mass of sun, compared to others lies inside the sun, making it to appear that earth is rotating around sun, while actually both earth and sun are rotating around their common center of gravity

Similarly in a dual star system, planets and the other two stars rotate around their common center of gravity.. and since there are two stars of huge mass, now the center will lie somewhere in between in an empty location much outside the two stars

So it will be like earth and the two stars are rotating around an invisible object ? God ?

How will the religions evolve in that case ?

and who needs Infra red goggles or night vision equipment

by the way, no headlights required for vehicles.. no street lights either..

okie feeling sleepy now.. its very late night and I see no other star in our solar system.. Jupiter is smiling