Latest news with #NathanKaib
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Scientists Fear a Passing Star Could Fling Earth Out of the Sun's Orbit, Into the Frigid Expanse Beyond
Scientists like to refer to our planet as residing in the "Goldilocks zone," where it's neither too hot nor too cold, and just the right distance away from the Sun to support life. But in the classic "Goldilocks" fairy tale, our eponymous protagonist is forced to flee from the bears' abode she rudely invited herself into, never to return. No more perfect porridges or adequately sized beds. That could be the case for Earth one day, if we are to exhaust this analogy. Instead of being booted out by unfriendly bears, however, we might be kicked to the curb by a passing star. Actually, an untimely eviction might be the good scenario. A new study published in the journal Icarus suggests that the gravity of an unmoored star could, like we mentioned, hurl us into the frigid expanse of space — or it could jumble the orbits of the other planets enough to send one of them crashing straight into Earth, delivered, all too belatedly, like a cosmic misericorde. Morbid as it is to envision our planet's demise, the work illustrates how our solar system, far from a sequestered island, is in tune with the rest of the universe, and that astronomers may be overlooking the influence of distant objects. "Our simulations indicate that isolated models of the solar system can underestimate the degree of our giant planets' future secular orbital changes by over an order of magnitude," wrote study lead author Nathan Kaib, an astronomer at the Planetary Science Institute, in the paper. Summarizing his latest findings, Kaib told Science News there's about a five percent chance — over the next five billion years — that a wayward star could come within 100 astronomical units of our solar system, or about 100 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Should that happen, all eyes should be on Mercury. In the researchers' simulations, Mercury's orbit could become so elliptical that it smacks into either the Sun or Venus. That, in turn, could cause Venus or Mars to careen into Earth — that is, if the gravitational havoc doesn't cause our planet to go the way of Icarus, instead. Barring that, Earth could be knocked in the direction of Jupiter, before the gas giant homers us into the void of interstellar space. There's a silver lining. "None of these things are probable," Kaib told Science News. There's only 0.2 percent chance of one these grim scenarios befalling Earth, in a generous window stretching billions of years. "Nonetheless, this probability of Earth orbital change is hundreds of times larger than prior estimates," Kaib emphasizes in the paper. Kaib previously published research which suggested that the Earth's orbit was altered by a passing star three million years ago, opening the possibility that events like these could have been responsible for historical fluctuations in the Earth's climate. At the same time, it's a slightly unsettling reminder of just how delicate the architecture of our galactic neck of the woods can be. "It's a little scary how vulnerable we may be to planetary chaos," Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson who was not involved with the study, told Science News. More on astronomy: Scientists Detect Mysterious Object in Deep Solar System
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Is THIS how the world will end? Scientists warn Earth could be flung out of orbit by a passing star - leaving humans to freeze to death
From Armageddon to the Day After Tomorrow, there have been plenty of Hollywood movies about how our world might end. But if there is to be a global apocalypse, what might be to blame for wiping out all life on Earth? Scientists believe they may finally have the answer - and it suggests we could face a grisly demise. In a new study, researchers from the Planetary Science Institute and the University of Bordeaux predict that Earth could be flung out of orbit by a passing star. And without our Sun there to keep us warm, this would leave any inhabitants - including humans - to freeze to death. Thankfully, the chances of this happening are very low. Over the next five billion years, the chance of Earth being flung out of orbit by a passing star is around one in 500, according to the team. 'We find a 0.3% chance that Mars will be lost through collision or ejection and a 0.2% probability that Earth will be involved in a planetary collision or ejected,' the team wrote in their study. For decades, scientists have pondered how the Earth could end. A wandering black hole, giant asteroid impact and nuclear war could all trigger catastrophic disasters, as could the rise of killer robots or the reversal of our planet's magnetic field. In their new study, published in arXiv, Nathan Kaib and Sean Reynold set out to understand whether passing stars could be to blame. 'The long-term dynamical future of the Sun's planets has been simulated and statistically analyzed in great detail,' the pair explained. 'But most prior work considers the solar system as completely isolated, neglecting the potential influence of field star passages.' To answer this question, the pair ran thousands of simuations of our solar system in the presence of passing stars over the next five billion years. Worryingly, their simulations revealed that our solar system's eight planets - as well as dwarf planet, Pluto - are 'significantly less stable than previouly thought'. Pluto faces the greatest risk of being lost through a collision or ejection, with the simulations revealing a five per cent chance. Mars fares slightly better with a 0.3 per cent chance, while Earth has a 0.2 per cent chance of being flung out of the solar system. As for the passing stars to be on the lookout for, the researchers predict that the most dangerous ones are those that come within 100 times as far from the sun as Earth is. According to the simulations, there's about a five per cent chance of such a close encounter over the next five billion years. 'In summary, passing stars can alter the stability of the planets and Pluto as well as the secular architecture of the giant planets over the next 5 Gyrs [5 billion years,' the authors concluded. 'Their significance on the solar system's dynamical future largely depends on the strength of the most powerful stellar passage over this time span, which is uncertain by orders of magnitude. 'This uncertainty in the Sun's future powerful stellar encounters means that the spectrum of future secular evolution and planetary instabilities is broader than that implied by isolated models of solar system evolution.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Planet Nine really DOES exist, scientists say - as they reveal exactly how we could find the secret world
It's a question that has baffled scientists around the world for years. Is there really a ninth planet hiding in our solar system? And if so, how do we find it? Now, researchers from Rice University claim to have fresh evidence of Planet Nine - as well as a method to find it. Based on complex simulations, the team says there's around a 40 per cent chance that a Planet Nine-like object is hiding in our solar system. And if it does exist, it could be discovered using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, they say. Located on a mountaintop in Chile, this observatory features the largest camera ever built - and is set to send back its first images within weeks. 'With its unparalleled ability to survey the sky in depth and detail, the observatory is expected to significantly advance the search for distant solar system objects, increasing the likelihood of either detecting Planet Nine or providing the evidence needed to rule out its existence,' the researchers said in a statement. Planet Nine is a hypothetical planet, first theorised by astronomers from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) back in 2016. Said to have a mass about five to 10 times that of Earth, this hypothetical, Neptune-sized planet would circle our sun on a highly elongated path, far beyond Pluto. If it does exist, Planet Nine could help to explain the unique orbits of some smaller objects in the Kupier Belt - a region of icy debris that extends far beyond the orbit of Neptune. In their new study, the team set out to understand whether or not Planet Nine could really exist. Using complex simulations, the team showed that wide-orbit planets like Planet Nine are not anomalies. Instead, they're natural by-products of a chaotic early phase in planetary system development, according to the team. 'Essentially, we're watching pinballs in a cosmic arcade,' said André Izidoro, lead author of the study. 'When giant planets scatter each other through gravitational interactions, some are flung far away from their star. 'If the timing and surrounding environment are just right, those planets don't get ejected, but rather they get trapped in extremely wide orbits.' The simulations showed that planets are pushed into these wide orbits by internal instabilities, before being stabilised by the gravitational influence of nearby stars. 'When these gravitational kicks happen at just the right moment, a planet's orbit becomes decoupled from the inner planetary system,' explained Nathan Kaib, co-author of the study. 'This creates a wide-orbit planet—one that's essentially frozen in place after the cluster disperses.' As for what this means for Planet Nine, the researchers say there's now a 40 per cent change that the world exists. 'Our simulations show that if the early solar system underwent two specific instability phases—the growth of Uranus and Neptune and the later scattering among gas giants—there is up to a 40% chance that a Planet Nine-like object could have been trapped during that time,' Dr Izidoro said. The team now hopes to use the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to prove the existence of Planet Nine once and for all. 'As we refine our understanding of where to look and what to look for, we're not just increasing the odds of finding Planet Nine,' Dr Izidoro added. 'We're opening a new window into the architecture and evolution of planetary systems throughout the galaxy.' PLANET NINE: ORBITS OF OBJECTS BEYOND NEPTUNE SUGGEST 'SOMETHING LARGE' IS THERE Astronomers believe that the orbits of a number of bodies in the distant reaches of the solar system have been disrupted by the pull of an as yet unidentified planet. First proposed by a group at CalTech in the US, this alien world was theorised to explain the distorted paths seen in distant icy bodies. In order to fit in with the data they have, this alien world - popularly called Planet Nine - would need to be roughly four times the size of Earth and ten times the mass. Researchers say a body of this size and mass would explain the clustered paths of a number of icy minor planets beyond Neptune. Its huge orbit would mean it takes between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make a single pass around the sun. The theoretical Planet Nine is based on the gravitational pull it exerts on these bodies, with astronomers confident it will be found in the coming years.
