It has been theorized that Jupiter protects the inner planets from short periodic comets. The large gravity well of Jupiter makes it more likely that a comet fa

It has been theorized that Jupiter protects the inner planets from short periodic comets. The large gravity well of Jupiter makes it more likely that a comet falls under its influence, either colliding with Jupiter such as in the case of Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994, or deflecting the comet into a hyperbolic orbit so that it leaves our solar system entirely.