Люди во время встречи первого восхода солнца Нового 2023 года в Сеуле  - Sputnik International, 1920, 21.04.2023
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Scientists Revise Forecasted Collision With Renegade Star 29,000 Years From Now

© Photo : K. Miller, Caltech/IPACThis artist's concept shows the two-faced white dwarf nicknamed Janus. The blue-tinted dead cinder of a star, which was once a star like our sun, is composed primarily of hydrogen on one side and helium on the other (the hydrogen side appears brighter).
This artist's concept shows the two-faced white dwarf nicknamed Janus. The blue-tinted dead cinder of a star, which was once a star like our sun, is composed primarily of hydrogen on one side and helium on the other (the hydrogen side appears brighter). - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.11.2023
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People expecting to be alive in the year 31023 will be pleased to know that predictions of planetary destruction were greatly exaggerated.
Astronomers are revising predictions a renegade star may end life as we know it 29,000 years from now.
The findings were published earlier this year in a journal of astrophysics research and relate to the star WD 0810–353, a white dwarf. Previous research based on observations from the European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope suggested the star could be moving in our direction. While it may not directly hit Earth, researchers speculated the heavenly body could pass close enough to our solar system to disrupt the Oort cloud, sending some of its comets and icy debris hurtling our way.
Scientists are now rethinking that conclusion after taking into account the star’s magnetic field.
Closer examination of the white dwarf has revealed it has an unusually large magnetic field. This was determined while viewing the star through the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in northern Chile’s remote Atacama Desert.
Researchers there combined data gathered from the telescope with findings from the Focal Reducer and Low Dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2), an instrument that examines the color spectra of celestial light.
The researchers determined the findings based on observations from the Gaia telescope were inaccurate, with the light emitted from the star distorted by its magnetic field. This led the scientists to conclude the star likely isn’t headed toward our solar system at all.
The findings suggest a reprieve for our planet, at least for another 5 billion years. At that point astronomers say our sun will run out of hydrogen, swelling into a red giant that engulfs Earth and the other planets of our solar system.
Humanity’s survival at that point may depend on whether we’ve been able to colonize other planets---and if, of course, we survive long enough to overcome more immediate threats such as climate change.
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