The universe is full of existential threats that any planet could face, such as the possibility that Earth could get kicked out of the Solar System. Researchers said that although the chances are slim and it is unlikely to happen to Earth, it is possible and cannot be ruled out, Space.com reported.
This theory was proposed by numerous experts in the past, showing that a massive rogue star could take the Earth from its orbit in a process known as flyby. The planet could exchange energy with the star and attract or deflect it in such a way that it launches itself out of the Solar System.
Earth Leaving the Solar System
A rogue star passing by Earth could change the planet's orbit as its core could get a little bit of energy that attracts it through a gravitational tug from the foreign visitor. Although it might not amount to much, if this happens every year it could make the Earth move away from its position farther from the Sun and out of the habitable zone.
The idea that Earth could get kicked out of the Solar System was first presented in Liu Cixin's short story "The Wandering Earth," which was first published in the Chinese magazine Science Fiction World in July 2000. She tells a story of when Earth needed to propel itself out of the Solar System to escape an imminent solar flare that could erase all terrestrial planets.
Marca reported that aerospace engineer Matteo Ceriotti from the University of Glasgow stressed that this notion is highly unlikely but possible. He explained that the Earth could be deflected by a massive rogue interstellar object that will enter the Solar System.
Physics and astronomy lecturer Timothy Davis at Cardiff University added that as the result of gravitational interaction of the stars, it could change Earth's orbit. Another explanation was offered by NASA who said that if the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies were to collide, the Earth could be ejected and will wipe out all existing life on it, which could happen four billion years from now.
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Earth Moving Away From the Sun
The Sun is moving far away from Earth in such a predictable way that most people might never suspect its relationship with Earth is changing all the time. Scientists observed that the Earth's distance to the Sun is not constant every year and they are finding out why the planet is moving away from its star and what forces could possibly influence this.
According to NASA, the Earth is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers from the Sun. But the planet revolves around the Sun in an elliptical or oval-shaped orbit, which means that the distance of Earth from the Sun could range from 91.4 million miles (147.1 million to 152.1 million kilometers.
Over the years, they noticed that this distance is slowly increasing and they believe that the growing distance has two major causes. The first one is that the Sun is losing its mass, and the second one is because of the forces that cause tides on Earth.
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