Latest news with #Icarus
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Science
- Yahoo
The Earth could be soon flung out of orbit or into the sun - all thanks to a passing star
Could a passing star be on a collision course with our solar system and, eventually, Earth? It's difficult to know if such an outcome is likely. Recently, researchers have found the Milky Way likely won't crash into its neighboring galaxy any time soon. Our blue marble is already slated to be eaten by our sun in several billion years, after it turns into a red giant and expands. But researchers said in a recent study published in the journal Icarus that thousands of computer simulations indicate there's a chance a passing field star – a star that appears in the same region of the sky as another object being studied – could cause more havoc than previously believed. '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. In addition, our planets and Pluto are significantly less stable than previously thought,' Nathan Kaib and Sean Raymond, a pair of astronomers, wrote in May. Kaib is from Iowa's Planetary Science Institute and Raymond is from France's University of Bourdeaux. The study's authors say passing stars are the most probable trigger for instability during the course of the next four billion years. The gravitational tug could cause instability to completely stable objects, including Pluto: formerly the ninth planet of our solar system. Over the course of five billion years, stars could transform Pluto from a completely stable object to one with a chaotic set of gravitational interactions that sets it off its orbit. While the odds of those changes occurring in that time frame from Pluto are approximately five percent, they are exponentially greater for Mercury. The risk of instability for the solar system's first planet would increase by between around 50 and 80 percent. 'We also find an approximately 0.3 percent chance that Mars will be lost through collision or ejection and an approximately 0.2 percent probability that Earth will be involved in a planetary collision or ejected,' they wrote. Kaib previously published work that suggested Earth's orbit was altered by a passing star three million years ago. 'We looked at the typical, run-of-the-mill flybys,' Raymond told New Scientist. 'These are the stars that really do pass by the sun all the time, cosmically speaking.' Still, these simulations aside, Kaib told Science News that 'none of these things are probable.' Although, the outlet notes, a 0.2 percent chance of collision with the Earth is much greater than previous research has found. 'It's a little scary how vulnerable we may be to planetary chaos,' Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona who was not involved with the study, told Science News.
The Independent
19 hours ago
- Science
- The Independent
Passing star could send Earth into the sun
A new study published in the journal Icarus suggests that passing field stars could cause more instability in our solar system than previously believed. Astronomers Nathan Kaib and Sean Raymond found that isolated models underestimate future orbital changes of giant planets, indicating that planets and Pluto are less stable than thought. The study identifies passing stars as the most probable trigger for instability within the solar system over the next four billion years. The gravitational tug from these stars could significantly increase the risk of instability for Mercury by 50-80%, and there is a 5% chance of chaotic gravitational interactions for Pluto over five billion years. The research also indicates an approximately 0.3% chance of Mars being lost through collision or ejection, and a 0.2% probability of Earth being involved in a planetary collision or ejected, a higher figure than previous findings.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Investigating Small Orange Objects Coating Surface of the Moon
Over half a century ago, Apollo astronauts encountered something surprising littering the desolate lunar surface: a vast number of tiny orange beads. As Universe Today reports, scientists have long proposed that these beads, each smaller than a grain of sand, date back to over three billion years ago, when volcanic eruptions on the now-inert natural satellite were still commonplace. The theory goes that material launched up by lunar volcanoes would solidify into tiny drops in the freezing vacuum of space, surviving without any erosion or weather for billions of years. Decades later, researchers have now used high-tech microscopic techniques to get a much more detailed look at these tiny orange beads. Using electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, and a host of other techniques, the team found that each glass bead tells a different story, fleshing out a geologically active history rife with violent volcano explosions. "We've had these samples for 50 years, but we now have the technology to fully understand them," said Ryan Ogliore, Washington University professor of physics and coauthor of a paper set to be published in the journal Icarus, in a press release. "Many of these instruments would have been unimaginable when the beads were first collected." Ogliore also found that some of the beads are reminiscent of natural processes that take place on Earth. "The very existence of these beads tells us the Moon had explosive eruptions, something like the fire fountains you can see in Hawaii today," Ogliore said. However, their shape, color, and chemical composition are unsurprisingly completely different thanks to their extraterrestrial origin. The team had to go to great lengths to make these measurements. Since the tiny Apollo samples can easily react with oxygen and other elements in Earth's atmosphere, the researchers had to protect them from air exposure at every step. But thanks to their detailed analysis, the history of our planet's satellite is slowly coming into focus. The research tells a complex story of the Moon's evolution, "like reading the journal of an ancient lunar volcanologist," according to Ogliore. More on the Moon: Scientists Say There's Over a Trillion Dollars of Platinum Waiting to Be Extracted From the Moon's Craters
The Independent
a day ago
- Science
- The Independent
Unexpected passing object could help wipe out Earth
A recent study published in the journal Icarus indicates that passing field stars could cause more instability in our solar system than previously believed. Astronomers Nathan Kaib and Sean Raymond conducted thousands of computer simulations, identifying passing stars as the most probable trigger for future orbital changes over the next four billion years. The research suggests that the risk of instability for Jupiter could increase by 50 to 80 percent due to these gravitational interactions. The study also found an approximate 0.3 percent chance that Mars could be lost through collision or ejection, and a 0.2 percent probability of Earth being involved in a planetary collision or ejected. Despite these findings, which show a higher risk for Earth than previous research, one of the study's authors, Nathan Kaib, stated that these extreme outcomes are still not probable.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
The Earth could be soon flung out of orbit or into the sun all thanks to a passing star
Could a passing star be on a collision course with our solar system and, eventually, Earth? It's difficult to know if such an outcome is likely. Recently, researchers have found the Milky Way likely won't crash into its neighboring galaxy any time soon. Our blue marble is already slated to be eaten by our sun in several billion years, after it turns into a red giant and expands. But researchers said in a recent study published in the journal Icarus that thousands of computer simulations indicate there's a chance a passing field star – a star that appears in the same region of the sky as another object being studied – could cause more havoc than previously believed. '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. In addition, our planets and Pluto are significantly less stable than previously thought,' Nathan Kaib and Sean Raymond, a pair of astronomers, wrote in May. Kaib is from Iowa's Planetary Science Institute and Raymond is from France's University of Bourdeaux. The study's authors say passing stars are the most probable trigger for instability during the course of the next four billion years. The gravitational tug could cause instability to completely stable objects, including Pluto: formerly the ninth planet of our solar system. Over the course of five billion years, stars could transform Pluto from a completely stable object to one with a chaotic set of gravitational interactions that sets it off its orbit. While the odds of those changes occurring in that time frame from Pluto are approximately five percent, they are exponentially greater for Mercury. The risk of instability for the solar system's fifth planet would increase by between around 50 and 80 percent. 'We also find an approximately 0.3 percent chance that Mars will be lost through collision or ejection and an approximately 0.2 percent probability that Earth will be involved in a planetary collision or ejected,' they wrote. Kaib previously published work that suggested Earth's orbit was altered by a passing star three million years ago. 'We looked at the typical, run-of-the-mill flybys,' Raymond told New Scientist. 'These are the stars that really do pass by the sun all the time, cosmically speaking.' Still, these simulations aside, Kaib told Science News that 'none of these things are probable.' Although, the outlet notes, a 0.2 percent chance of collision with the Earth is much greater than previous research has found. 'It's a little scary how vulnerable we may be to planetary chaos,' Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona who was not involved with the study, told Science News.
