A Passing Star Could Fling Earth Out of Orbit Faster Than Anyone Previously Predicted
The Daily Galaxy • • science
Key Points:
- New research by Nathan Kaib and Sean Raymond shows that passing stars can gravitationally disrupt the solar system over billions of years, increasing Earth's risk of ejection or collision to 0.2 percent and Mars's risk to 0.3 percent.
- Mercury is identified as the initial point of instability in many simulations, with its orbit becoming more elliptical and potentially triggering a cascade of disturbances affecting Venus, Mars, and Earth.
- Close stellar flybys within 100 AU and at speeds under 10 km/s pose the greatest threat, with a 5 percent chance of such an encounter occurring in the next five billion years, higher than previously estimated.
- The study also challenges the assumed long-term stability of Pluto, suggesting a
