Earth could be filled with deadly 'chaos' comets in just over 1 million years, when a wandering star enters the outer reaches of the Solar System, according to scientists.
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According to Newsweek, scientists believe a star will stray into our Solar System in just over a million years and throw comets toward us, which could spell disaster for the Earth. soil.
Gliese 710 is a small star currently located about 62 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens Cauda.
Scientists say that for about two decades, Gliese 710 was headed straight towards the Solar System. A 2018 study estimates that about 1.29 million years from now, the star will arrive just 0.06 light-years from Earth - about the width of a hair, in terms of space.
At a distance of 0.06 light-years, Gliese 710 will pass through the "Oort cloud" (described by NASA as a giant sphere enveloping the entire Solar System), disturbing numerous comets. Many of these comets can be thrown out into deep space. Many more stars will be broken up inside the Solar System.
Professor Brad Gibson, director of the EA Milne Center for Astrophysics at the University of Hull (UK), told Newsweek: "With the same mass, a comet would do 10 times more damage to the Earth than a single comet would. small planet".
There is much debate about whether the impact event that wiped out most of the species on Earth 65 million years ago, including dinosaurs, was a comet or an asteroid?
Professor Gibson said: "In just 1 million years, Gliese 710 will actually enter our Solar System and slowly pass through the 'Oort cloud'. The impact of this journey will shake 10 million. comets, which are predicted to rain down on the inner Solar System. Of which, millions of comets will fall directly into the Earth."
Currently, thousands of scientists watch the sky with vigilance, he added, to detect asteroids or comets that could pose a threat to Earth.
Alan Fitzsimmons from the Center for Astrophysics Research at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, told Newsweek: "Comets have hit Earth in the past and they will happen again in the future. The good news is that current telescopes designed to detect both asteroids and comets may be headed our way, giving scientists a warning."