article_snippet: We earthlings might have the giant planet to thank for We very existence.
article_snippet: Two scientists are suggesting that the inner solar system once played host to a bunch of "super-Earths" -- planets that were larger than We own but smaller than Neptune.
article_snippet: The theory attempts to explain why our solar system is a bit of an oddball in our galactic neighborhood.
article_snippet: There is no reason to think that the dominant mode of planet formation throughout the galaxy should not have occurred here," Batygin said.
article_snippet: What stops our solar system from being sucked right into the sun is Saturn.
article_snippet: That sent the planetesimals smashing into debris in our solar system, causing the planetesimals smashing into debris in the inner solar system to break apart and fall into the sun at a faster rate.
article_snippet: The scientists say The scientists ran a simulation of what would happen if there were also a number of super-Earths in the vicinity as well.
article_snippet: The scientists found that a wave of decaying planetesimals would steer the super-Earths into the sun over the course of 20,000 years.
article_snippet: You only need a few Earth masses worth of material to drive tens of Earth masses worth of planets into the sun.
highlights_snippet: The planet-shattering journey laid foundations for Earth, they say .