star collision course with our solar system but don't worry!

http://phys.org/news/2015-01-rogue-star-hip-collision-solar.html
"...it's known as HIP 85605, one of two stars that make up a binary in the Hercules constellation roughly 16 light years away. And if a recent research paper produced by Dr. Coryn Bailer-Jones of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany is correct, it is on a collision course with our Solar System.

Now for the good news: according to Bailer-Jones' calculations, the star will pass by our Solar System at a distance of 0.04 parsecs, which is equivalent to 8,000 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun (8,000 AUs). In addition, this passage will not affect Earth or any other planet's orbit around the Sun. And perhaps most importantly of all, none of it will be happening for another 240,000 to 470,000 years from now.
..."

Well that is a relief. I had heard of this rogue star before.

Originally posted by humy
http://phys.org/news/2015-01-rogue-star-hip-collision-solar.html
"...it's known as HIP 85605, one of two stars that make up a binary in the Hercules constellation roughly 16 light years away. And if a recent research paper produced by Dr. Coryn Bailer-Jones of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany is correct, it is on a collision course ...[text shortened]... o 470,000 years from now.
..."

Well that is a relief. I had heard of this rogue star before.

In cosmic time, less than half million year time spans is right now! And a bit too close for comfort. It would be an opportunity of a lifetime to send a craft to it and hitch a ride, eh. Assuming hi tech humans are still around that far in the future.

As time goes by they will peg the closest approach but so far it looks like that will be 1/8th of a light year.

Can you imagine what that star will look like at that distance?

Originally posted by humy
http://phys.org/news/2015-01-rogue-star-hip-collision-solar.html
"...it's known as HIP 85605, one of two stars that make up a binary in the Hercules constellation roughly 16 light years away. And if a recent research paper produced by Dr. Coryn Bailer-Jones of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany is correct, it is on a collision course ...[text shortened]... o 470,000 years from now.
..."

Well that is a relief. I had heard of this rogue star before.

Not really a prob mate. By then, judging by today's humanitarian actions, we'll have reverted back to Apes by then, and rejuvenated dinosaurs. Could be a possible cycle? 😀

-m. 😉

Originally posted by mikelom
Not really a prob mate. By then, judging by today's humanitarian actions, we'll have reverted back to Apes by then, and rejuvenated dinosaurs. Could be a possible cycle? 😀

-m. 😉

Hey Mike, how's things going with you? Able to play guitar yet?

Originally posted by humy
Well that is a relief. I had heard of this rogue star before.

That's because this report is more sensation than science.

For starters, I'd want to know what the error margins are on all of those figures. There's a good chance that at least one of them is close to 75%.

Originally posted by Shallow Blue
That's because this report is more sensation than science.

For starters, I'd want to know what the error margins are on all of those figures. There's a good chance that at least one of them is close to 75%.

I heard a story once of a talk where the speaker was explaining that the earth would be destroyed when the sun turned into a red giant in a couple of billion years. A woman in the audience became distressed and, to reassure her, he said that she needn't worry and that this was a couple of billion years in the future. She then calmed down with the comment: "I misheard you, I thought you'd said million not billion."

Originally posted by Shallow Blue
That's because this report is more sensation than science.

For starters, I'd want to know what the error margins are on all of those figures. There's a good chance that at least one of them is close to 75%.

Well, the velocity is pretty well under control, probably within 10%. The exact angle of approach is the outlier number, which will have to be redone year by year to peg within 10%. A very small change in that number would obviously put the path crashing into the sun or off by a light year. Kind of like predicting the path of hurricanes here on Earth.

Originally posted by humy
Now for the good news: according to Bailer-Jones' calculations, the star will pass by our Solar System at a distance of 0.04 parsecs, which is equivalent to 8,000 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun (8,000 AUs). In addition, this passage will not affect Earth or any other planet's orbit around the Sun.

Given that our Oort cloud extends up to 50,000 AU, many of our Suns comets and the stars comets (if it has any) will have a strong interaction, either switching stars, getting thrown off into space or being sent into new orbits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud

Also, we should not only be concerned about rogue stars that we can see, but also all the other objects that we cannot see. For every visible star out there there are a certain number of planets, dwarf stars and black holes that are not so easily visible.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Given that our Oort cloud extends up to 50,000 AU, many of our Suns comets and the stars comets (if it has any) will have a strong interaction, either switching stars, getting thrown off into space or being sent into new orbits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud

Also, we should not only be concerned about rogue stars that we can see, but also ...[text shortened]... ere are a certain number of planets, dwarf stars and black holes that are not so easily visible.

I guess the gist of all that is the universe is not a nice place to visit🙂

Originally posted by sonhouse
I guess the gist of all that is the universe is not a nice place to visit🙂

... but it is the best place to live in.

Originally posted by FabianFnas
... but it is the best place to live in.

But maybe not the only one.....

Originally posted by sonhouse
I guess the gist of all that is the universe is not a nice place to visit🙂

Only for conservatives who can't handle change.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Only for conservatives who can't handle change.

I don't think it's only Conservatives who'd rather not have the change associated with meteorite bombardment from a disturbance in the Oort cloud.

Originally posted by DeepThought
I don't think it's only Conservatives who'd rather not have the change associated with meteorite bombardment from a disturbance in the Oort cloud.

Yes, but the Conservatives would be the least willing to adapt with some even saying and believing its all one big no-good anti-business anti-capitalist lefty (communist in all but name ) conspiracy hoax and we should just continue business as usual indefinitely and exactly like we are doing now complete with the same old unsustainable CO2 emissions (does this sound familiar? ) and, in the mean time, the comets head our way.

Originally posted by DeepThought
..... who'd rather not have the change associated with meteorite bombardment from a disturbance in the Oort cloud.

Then they are conservatives surely?