Is This How The World Ends? Earth Could Be Flung Out Of Orbit By A Passing Star, Scientists Warn

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) <p>For decades, movies have imagined the end of the world, from asteroids to climate disasters. But now, scientists are warning about a rare but real cosmic threat: a passing star could knock Earth out of orbit.</p><p>A new study by researchers from the Planetary Science Institute and the University of Bordeaux says that over the next five billion years, there's a small chance a rogue star could disrupt our solar system's balance says Daily Mail report.</p><p>If that happens, Earth could be flung into deep space, away from the Sun's warmth and left to freeze in the dark.</p><p>The study, published on arXiv, was led by planetary scientists Nathan Kaib and Sean Raymond. They ran thousands of simulations, adding passing stars to test how stable our solar system really is.</p><p>The results are sobering. While the chance of Earth being ejected is just 0.2%, it's not zero. Mars has a slightly higher risk at 0.3%, while Pluto, the most vulnerable, has a 5% chance of being lost.</p><p>The simulations showed that the planets and Pluto are“significantly less stable than previously thought” once you include the effect of nearby stars. These stars, if they pass within 100 times the Earth-Sun distance (about 100 AU), could disturb the orbits of planets.</p><p>Such a close encounter with a star is about 5% likely over the next five billion years, the researchers found. And depending on how close and how massive the star is, it could throw one or more planets into chaos.</p><p>Still, scientists say there's no need to panic. These scenarios are far in the future and highly unlikely.</p><p>In the words of the researchers:“The spectrum of future planetary instabilities is broader than previously thought.”</p><p>But while the threat is low, this study shows just how fragile our solar system might be in the long run-and how space isn't as quiet as it seems.</p>

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