What if we moved Earth into its orbit, too?

How would Jupiter's super-strong gravity

affect our lives?

How long could you survive

on a freezing planet

that's full of volcanoes?

This is 'What If,'

and here's what would happen

if the Earth was a moon of Jupiter

When you run into an old friend in

the last place you'd expect to see them,

you figure it's a small world.

When you find out that the planet Jupiter

could hold over 1,300 Earths,

you realize, it's a tiny world.

Picture this:

if Earth was the size of a grape,

Jupiter would be the size of a basketball.

We've got one moon.

Jupiter has 79, and counting.

So yeah, Jupiter's a big deal.

And orbiting it would be a dream

for all you Instagrammers out there;

but in this case,

a picture doesn't make it last longer,

when every day is a struggle for survival.

It's a really, really cold morning,

and that's because Jupiter is 778 million km (484 million miles) from the Sun.

That means 25x less luminousity

and 25x less heat

than we currently enjoy at Earth's present location.

Fortunately, the Sun is super bright, so we'd still get daylight;

but if we were to compare Earth to Jupiter's closest moon, IO,

Of course, that wouldn't really matter,

because if you were born on the Earth-moon of Jupiter,

you'd probably grow up not knowing sunlight.

The gravitational pull from Jupiter's other nearby moons,

and the planet itself,

would generate extreme tidal forces.

These would actually generate a lot of heat on our planet-moon, but internally.

So yeah, that's how you end up in a world where, if the cold doesn't get you,

So yeah, that's how you end up in a world where, if the cold doesn't get you, then maybe the daily earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption will.

then maybe the daily earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption will.

Well, either that or you'll just be cooked to death.

Jupiter's magnetic field is 10x stronger than Earth's

Meaning that it emits a million times more radiation.

So, if you really want to make life on Jupiter's Earth-moon work,

living underground is your best bet.

One year on Earth is one month on Jupiter,

since it takes Jupiter 12 years to go around the Sun.

Every month on Jupiter, the planet gets hit by about 12 to 60 asteroids or comets.

Large or small, their impacts are much more consequential.

Since Jupiter's gravitational pull accelerates these objects

to a collision speed of about 216,000 km/h (134,000 mph), at the minimum.

If Earth became one of Jupiter's moons, we're now in the line of fire.

As a much, much smaller planet,

we're less likely to be able to absorb these kinds of impacts.

You've done your best living underground, but

there's nowhere left to go when a sizeable asteroid obliterates your home.

So, thanks for playing, better luck next time.

But really, what did you expect? Pitting a grape against a basketball?

That's just cruel.

But, points to you for style, courage, and above all, curiosity.

And keep asking questions! The sky is limit on 'What If.'