The First Planets - Part 1

Previously on Solar Balls... A man narrates to his family the story of the Big Bang, all the way to the origins of our solar system and the Grand Tack of Jupiter, which destroyed most of the rocky planets. Now, a new generation of rocky planets is about to come to life. Hey, I see you found my old telescope, Junior. What are you looking at? Ah, good old Mars. Right next to our moon, no less. It may look tiny, but that's just because it's very far away. Mars, just like the Earth, is a rocky planet. Same as Venus, Mercury, and... well, some other planets from our solar system's past. On that note, are you ready for more solar system lore, son? The year was... 4.5 billion years ago. The solar system went from having several dozen rocky planets to almost none. And it was all because of Jupiter, whose orbital change caused their destruction or expulsion from the solar system. Hey, mister! Whoa! Oh! Hey there! I think I've seen you before. Same! I'm Neptune. Oh, yep. He is Neptune. Oh, come on, you could say your name. I don't wanna! He's Uranus. Hey! Language! But Uranus is his name, big guy! Oh. Forgive me, guys. Let's not talk about it. Hey, you're the eldest planet, right? Yeah, my name's Jupiter. That one over there is Saturn. Hello! Oh, hey, mate. Oh, nice to meet you, Saturn. So, this is all of us, then. The four planets of the solar system? So, you never met... Uh... Uh, who? Was there someone else, mate? Uh... The rocky planets. I mean, they are in formation, but soon they'll be fully-fledged planets like us. Guys, not too close, please. You're joking, mate! How are these things like us? Yeah, they're super tiny! Well, as long as they are celestial bodies, not a star, and they orbit a star like ours, they are considered planets. FYI, this definition of what a planet is was changed in the year 2006. More on that later, Junior. Hey there, little one. You're... You're gonna be all right. Me and everyone else will take good care of... No, no, no! It happened again! Ooh, right in the face, mate. This universe can be so cruel sometimes. What's going on, guys? We just witnessed a rocky planet getting destroyed by an asteroid. It was so messed up. Yeah, unless they find a way to handle these asteroids, the rocky planets become the rocky tombstones, if anything. What was that? Guys, can you please go back to your orbits and stay there? Yeah, this is boring. Come on! I want to show you my asteroid collection, Uranus. Don't say my name out loud, Neptune. Check it out! This one looks like a nebula, this one looks like a galaxy, and this one looks like... Mate, aren't we too far away from the others? Well, yeah, but most orbits are boring. I like being close to the Kuiper belt. There's always something fun to discover. Well, Saturn told us to stay in our orbits, so you sure you want to orbit this far away from everyone? I'll be fine. Besides, I'll have you, right? Yeah, I'll try to find a balance, okay? Oh, okay, sure. Bye, friend. Later, mate. Hey, are you okay? Yeah, just using my gravity to keep the little ones safe. Listen, I know you feel guilty about... About what? About destroying dozens of planets like these ones? It was an accident, Jupiter! Yeah, well, until I see a new generation of rocky planets, I will not stop! Jupiter became a big cosmic bouncer. He kept the asteroid belt contained between his orbit and later on the orbit of Mars. He also prevented any new planets from forming inside the belt, so it became a solitary, mostly empty place, with one exception. I'm serious! Any other celestial bodies in the asteroid belt? Hello? Years then passed by the millions. The orbits of the planets stabilized. The asteroid belt became a more steady disk thanks to Jupiter. This allowed new rocky planets to form without constant asteroid bombardment. At least, less than before. Neptune's outward migration gave shape to the Kuiper belt, but it also scattered several objects around, including a few celestial bodies. And so, this once chaotic and uninhabitable solar system we live in became more and more stable. And soon, something wonderful would happen. Sir! Can you hear me? Hello? Sir? Who's... talking? Me! Me, over here! Can you see me? Wait... You're a... A rocky planet? A rocky what? Saturn! Saturn, come quick! What? What?! Who is that? I don't like this! I wanna... Hey, no, no, no! Don't worry! We are friends! Friends? Friend! Jupiter! It... It worked! It worked, Saturn! It really worked! It absolutely worked! It worked! I can't believe it worked! Oh, it worked, dude! It worked! A rocky planet! Yo-ho! It really worked! It worked! It really, really worked! It worked! This is how the era of the rocky planets began. And with it, the fate of the solar system would change forever. Wanna watch the next part? Eh? Well, join our Patreon to watch it and support the show!