Researchers have speculated that a rogue star might come to Earth’s rescue a billion years from now as our Sun grows larger and hotter, rendering our planet uninhabitable.
The new theoretical study explores the possibility that a passing rogue star could potentially eject Earth from its orbit, placing it in a cooler zone and extending its habitability.
Rogue stars, celestial wanderers expelled from their home solar systems and journeying through interstellar space, are rare but pose a potential threat to planets in their path.
The study suggests that one of these wandering stars could be Earth’s saving grace in the distant future.
READ MORE:
NASA scientists unveil risk of ‘lost’ asteroid hitting Earth in six years
NASA receives message from 10 million miles away in ‘first light’ moment
As our Sun transforms into a Red Giant over the next five billion years, it will expand and intensify, eventually consuming Earth.
To address this inevitable fate, scientists investigated the concept of Earth becoming a free-floating planet by simulating the effects of a rogue star encounter.
The astronomers conducted 12,000 simulations to explore various scenarios.
Some simulations depicted Earth being pushed into a colder orbit, while others placed our planet in the Oort cloud—a spherical layer of icy objects surrounding the Sun. In certain instances, Earth was gravitationally influenced by the passing rogue star.
Don’t miss…
Scientists left baffled as extremely high-energy particle crashes towards Earth[PICTURES]
‘I was a NASA engineer – a four-step method clears your windscreen in seconds'[LIFE]
Elon Musk says advertising boycott will kill X in expletive-filled rant[MUSK]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Despite the slim likelihood of a rogue star approaching Earth, the study suggests that even in this scenario, our planet would only have a 1-in-35,000 chance of surviving.
The research, accepted for publication in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, provides an intriguing glimpse into the potential cosmic events that could shape Earth’s distant future.
Source: Read Full Article