A new scientific study raises concerns about the long-term stability of the Earth within our solar system, proposing that gravitational forces from passing stars could lead to extreme outcomes, including the planet being ejected from orbit or pulled into the Sun. The research, published in Icarus, explores the destabilizing effects of ‘field stars’ and their potential to disrupt the solar system long before the Sun’s eventual end. The scientists employed thousands of computer simulations to understand how the solar system could evolve over vast timescales. The simulations revealed that a star, similar in mass to the Sun, passing relatively close to our solar system (within 10,000 AU), could trigger significant disturbances in the Oort Cloud. The study warns that the orbits of planets, including Pluto, may be far less secure than previously believed. The study suggests that the instability caused by a passing star can have a cascading effect, greatly affecting Mercury’s orbit and potentially causing collisions or ejections involving other planets like Venus, Mars, and Earth.
