Star set for potential collision with our solar system
BY: Patrick Jones, Buzz60
Scientists are constantly looking up at space to discover what's really out there and to keep an eye out for objects that may be getting a little too close for comfort. It seems they may have a new object to look out for.
The star Gliese 710 is currently about 64 light years from us in the constellation of Serpens. However, it's apparently set on a collision course with our very own solar system.
Gliese 710, which is about half the size of the sun, has had its path tracked by the European Space Agency and its Gaia mission whose task it is to track and map objects in the universe.
Scientists speculate that in 1.35 million years Gliese 710 will make contact with the Oort cloud, which is a huge cloud comprised of trillions of comets and other objects.
When this collision occurs, gravity will send comets scattering in every direction. Some will be lost to the nothingness of space while others will likely be scooped up by Jupiter's gravity. Still others will become long range comets with long orbits around the sun and opportunities to reach the inner solar system where Earth resides.
The good news is that we have more than a million years to prepare ourselves for this collision. The bad news is that we like to procrastinate.
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