The Solar System In a Nutshell

Which is sort of what it is.
Compared to the whole universe, that is.
Sometimes it's difficult to image the scale of the whole thing. By scale, I mean the vastness that is the final the frontier, space, five year missions and all that good stuff.
I dig science fiction, my favorite author is well, Arthur C. Clarke, but I think sometimes it does real science a disservice.
Take the good ole Moon for instance:



The Moon.
Been there done that.
The outer planets?
I seen the pictures, don't wanna go there.
Beyond?
Just hop in the Millenium Falcon, we'll do the Kessel Run and be back home in time for dinner.
What I'm trying to say is that science fiction has shrunk the universe. It's no longer vast.
If I think long enough about it, I can't even fathom the vastness of space.
Oh, and all this came to me while I was watching a rerun of House.
Don't ask and I won't tell.
Anyways, most people don't take the time to think about all the variables that had to come into place just for us to evolve into what we are today.
First, some cosmic dust had to gather, well a lot of dust had to gather and form our Sun. Then some proto planets had to start to form and take shape.
Not just any planets, but just the right combination of planets, all just the right size.
Then some chemical reactions had to take place on the third planet from the above Sun. A great mix of stuffs from which life eventually crawled.
That's not all.
See, them big planets, the ones way way out there, them gas giants had to form. Without them, it's entirely possible that us inner planets would face a constant bombardment of space rocks, like the one the caused the dinosaurs to go south. See, without them outer planets affecting the orbits of said space rocks, well, there's nothing really stopping them from making a beeline to Earth.
Every time a comet or asteroid hits Jupiter or Saturn(one just hit Jupiter again recently), I thank my lucky, er, planets that we got them big boys floating out there taking our flack and watching our backs.
That brings us back to the good ole Moon. Old Moony there, just the right size, also protects Earth by intercepting those space rocks that get too close.
Craters, remember?
I mean a GAGILLION things had to fall into place to make this, well, place.
Now I'm not saying we are alone out here on this wonderful blue spaceship. There are like a GAGILLION GILLION stars out there.
No really, take a look.
It's just that the chance of all the right cards falling into place to make a solar system like this again sort of narrows down the possibilities.
If you know what I mean.
I don't even want to think about the math.
Tonight, as I scope out Jupiter for the last of the Jovian Moon series, I'll be thinking of all this.
Even if not all of it computes in my nutshell of a brain.