Posted on 06/10/2023 4:29:39 AM PDT by Libloather
Astronomers know full well that the sun is very slowly getting brighter, and in a billion or so years time it will make Earth too hot to live on.
One scientist is now proposing a radical solution that will let humans live on this planet for longer – physically moving it away from the sun.
Albert Zijlstra, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Manchester, suggests shifting Earth further back from the sun by about three million miles.
At the moment, Earth is orbiting the sun at a distance of 93 million miles (150 million km) but this needs to extended to at least 96 million miles (155 million km), he says.
This movement would extend a year to 380 days, meaning we'd have to insert an extra 15 days into a calendar year somewhere.
'Earth will get warmer, and warmer – best estimates are that in one or two billion years, the oceans will begin to boil away,' Professor Zijlstra told MailOnline.
How would it work?
When a planet (such as Earth) slows down in its orbit, it moves closer to the sun. Likewise, when a planet speeds up in its orbit, it moves away from the sun.
Therefore, if we want to move Earth away from the sun, the objective is to speed up Earth.
Professor Zijlstra proposes doing this using a gravity assist or 'slingshot' manoeuvre, which are already used to speed up spacecraft after they've been launched from Earth.
It's a little-known fact that gravitational slingshots can also be used to reduce the speed of a spacecraft, which have the opposite effect on the planet - speeding it up.
Rather than a spacecraft - which would be too small - he proposes using a massive asteroid the size of a city.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I like it here. Move the sun.
Just turn the thermostat down on the sun.
You’re welcome.
Psalm 93:1c NKJV
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
Moving the Earth is not allowed. ;-)
The wacko who proposed the nutty idea should not be called a “scientist”, due to his blatant failure to admit the unforseen consequences of his idea could be a “cure” much worse than the “problem”.
I’m not sure my F450 can move the earth...We need about 2 infinity F450 to move it...🤓
“All ya gotta do is move the entire Earth.”
Wouldn’t mining some asteroids for enough material to construct an orbiting sun shade around the planet be a bit more workable?
Not to worry, though... it’s doubtful the human species will still be around in a million years, much less a billion. If it’s not a man-made pathogen that snuffs us, it’ll be a nuclear war, a massive solar flare, or AI will cancel humanity.
What could possibly go wrong?
This is even worse (and more outlandish) than the idea back in the 70’s to cover the poles with a mix of oil and coal dust to make them dark to prevent the next “ice age”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.