I ran across this article which was referenced from Ars. It talks about another solar system with an orbiting planet similar to Jupiter. Hrm, maybe Lost in Space had it right... To get back on track, one of the article's main points is that one of the functions of a planet like Jupiter (large & gasious) is to clear the path inside it's orbit. Or, as written in the article, to act "as a vacuum cleaner for the rest of the system, sweeping up interplanetary debris like astroids, which could snuff out life on the inner planets in fiery collsions." I've always had a minor interest in astronomy, but I had never thought that the existence of life on Earth could be directly related to the role of Jupiter, or any of the other planets for that matter. Sure, they make a minor gravitational difference on Earth, but that's all I had ever thought of. After reading this, I thought - what are the chances. I've thought about it before, but gosh, it seems like the ability for a planet to be able to sustain life is dependent upon so many factors. Not to mention that life has to get onto that planet somehow. Just another piece of evidence that there must be some higher power out there.