The Solar System Will Fall Apart Far Sooner than Anyone Thought, Scientists Say
Caltech researchers used hundreds of simulations to show random solar mass loss could destabilize Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune far sooner than expected.
- Caltech researchers published a study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggesting the solar system's lifespan could be dramatically cut short, with outer planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune destabilizing roughly one billion years after the Sun becomes a White Dwarf.
- Previous stability estimates assumed the Sun would lose mass smoothly as it transitions into a White Dwarf, but the new research argues the star will lose mass in violent, random ejections known as "stochastic kicks."
- Using advanced N-body simulations, researchers ran hundreds of model iterations on high-performance supercomputers, finding that in 40 percent of cases, planetary disruption occurred even earlier, while the Sun was still in its Red Giant phase.
- Earth, Venus, and Mercury will be consumed by the Sun as it expands into a Red Giant, with Mars the lone inner survivor; this timeline poses no practical threat to humanity since the Sun becomes a Red Giant long before outer planet instability occurs.
- The authors write the Sun "shakes it, and more often than not, spills it," relocating the cause of planetary dissolution from passing stars to the Sun itself, which destabilizes Jupiter and Saturn through gravitational disruption.
15 Articles
15 Articles
A new study changes estimates of the evolution of the Solar System after the death of the Sun. Researchers argue that the orbits of the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptun, could become unstable about a billion years after turning the Sun into a white dwarf much earlier than previously calculated.
A new study by Caltech researchers suggests that the future of the Solar System could be much more chaotic than previously thought. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune could lose their orbital stability about 1 billion years after the Sun ends its life as a star. Previous estimates suggested that the giant planets' orbits could remain stable for about a quintillion years, a period vastly longer than the current age of the universe. The Sun is a…
Our Solar System Is Terminally Unstable and Will Be Completely Destroyed, Study Finds
The estimated lifespan of the outer solar system has been downgraded from 100 billion years to just a few billion years, according to a study that probed “terminal instability” during the Sun’s death.
A NEW study reveals that the solar system will break up a billion times faster than predicted due to the chaotic ejection of the outer planets.
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Pakistan Live NewsSolar system may have a much shorter lifespan than we thought
Scientists in a recent study have revealed a new expiration date for our solar system. A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests the solar system’s lifespan could be...
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