According to a new study, millions of comets may one day land on our planet.
In about a million years, a roaming star could cause tens of millions of comets to rush toward our inner solar system.
Here’s what we know
Currently, the closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri, about 4.25 light-years away.
But in about 1.29 million years, a star called Gliese 710 will be our planet’s closest stellar neighbor.
Gliese 710 is a small star currently located in the constellation Serpentis, about 62 light-years from Earth.
However, the star is heading straight for our solar system—just 0.06 light-years from Earth.
What does this mean for the planet?
Gliese 710 will not directly harm Earth or any life on Earth from that distance.
But the passing of a star affects objects in space because of its strong gravitational pull.
Basically, when Gliese 710 passes through the Oort Cloud, it will disrupt the trajectories of countless comets.
While some of them will shoot into deep space, many others will head to our inner solar system.
What will the damage look like?
Professor Brad Gibson, director of the EA Milne Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Hull, told Newsweek: “For the same mass, a comet can do ten times as much damage to Earth as an asteroid.”
“The early formation stages of planets see such cometary impacts occurring more frequently.”
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, will protect Earth from many comets, but not all.
“There are so many that if there is any astrophysics that has the potential to completely destroy our biosphere, it will be one of the millions of comets that will come to us in a million years,” Gibson said.
What is a comet?
Comets are “cosmic snowballs of frozen gas, rock, and dust,” according to NASA.
They are made from the remnants of the solar system’s formation.
As a comet approaches the sun, it forms a “tail” of gas and dust particles that turns away from the large star.