Orange Dwarf Star Set to Smash into The Solar System

technologyreview.com ^ | March 12, 2010

[Free ThinkerNY]

A new set of star velocity data indicates that Gliese 710 has an 86 percent chance of ploughing into the Solar System within the next 1.5 million years.

The Solar System is surrounded by thousands of stars, but until recently it wasn't at all clear where they were all heading.

In 1997, however, astronomers published the Hipparcos Catalogue giving detailed position and velocity measurements of some 100,000 stars in our neighbourhood, all gathered by the European Space Agency's Hipparcos spacecraft. It's fair to say that the Hipparcos data has revolutionised our understanding of the 'hood.

In particular, this data allowed astronomers to work out which stars we'd been closer to in the past and which we will meet in the future. It turns out that 156 stars fall into this category and that the Sun has a close encounter with another star (meaning an approach within 1 parsec) every 2 million years or so.

In 2007, however, the Hipparcos data was revised and other measurements of star velocities have since become available. How do these numbers change the figures?

Today, Vadim Bobylev at the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in St Petersburg gives us the answer. He's combined the Hipparcos data with several new databases and found an additional nine stars that have either had a close encounter with the Sun or are going to.

But he's also made a spectacular prediction. The original Hipparcos data showed that an orange dwarf star called Gliese 710 is heading our way and will arrive sometime within the next 1.5 million years.

[Salamander]

One.
Track.
Mind.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Now you have to wait 1.3 million years if the calculations were correct.

[Semper Mark]

[Larry Lucido]

We’re still dealing with Manbearpig. How in the hell are we supposed to also deal with Orangedwarfstar??

[pallis]

These things happen from time to time.

[FlingWingFlyer]

LOL!

[353FMG]

Just make sure to empty your liquor cabinet by that date and turn off the lights.

[rdl6989]

Ping.

[Salamander]

[Salamander]

The second view is much prettier.

[The_Media_never_lie]

Bush’s fault.

Ya beat me to it.

Women and minorities to be most affected.

[SoldierDad]

Oh, crap. Time to start packing.

[shibumi]

"We’re still dealing with Manbearpig. How in the hell are we supposed to also deal with Orangedwarfstar??"

Channel your inner Velikovsky.

[phatus maximus]

Hmmm, whatever will I do with my time until then...

[thulldud]

They didn't say it would hit our atmosphere, just that it might come within the solar system. That allows a lot of room for us to slip by.

All the same, I guess I better not start any long books.

[The_Reader_David]

In as much as the solar system (like most of everything else in the physical universe on that scale or larger) is mostly empty space, “smash into” is a bizarre choice of words. Pass through through, wreaking havoc on planetary orbits and causing drastic heating of all the planets, is vastly more probable than “smash[ing] into” anything.

[Williams]

1.5 million years here, 1.5 million years there, next thing you know, it’s tomorrow.

[Irenic]

So, we can mark the Mayan 2012 and Da Vinci 4006 *kaboom* off the list?

What’s Nostradamus take on this?

[ApplegateRanch]

That’ll warm the old globe, and change the climate!

[thulldud]

Senator Dirksen, is that you?