The end is near! Star on collision course!

[silverpig]

http://rt.com/Sci_Tech/2010-03-12/star-course-solar-system.html

Movement of an orange dwarf star with a mass of about half that of the Sun will eventually bring it right to the solar system, stellar data analysis indicates.

The Gliese 710 from the constellation Serpens Cauda is due to arrive in about 1.5 million years, and has an 86 per cent probability of passing through the Oort Cloud, says Vadim Bobylev at the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in St. Petersburg.

Let's burn down the observatory so this never happens again!

 

[HydroSqueegee]

holy hell thats a long time. id hope by then the human race has colonized thousands of star systems.

 

[techs]

So what's the exact date of the ATOT end of the world meet?

 

[Chryso]

I am buying an insurance rider to cover star damage.

 

[joesmoke]

aww man of all the luck, i have tickets to see "Saw 47" that day...

 

[ch33zw1z]

holy hell thats a long time. id hope by then the human race has colonized thousands of star systems.

It's more likely we kills ourselves off before that!

 

[techs]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(star)

I assume this is what they are talking about?

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Hopefully, if we're still around 1.5 million years from now we'll have more than one solar system under our belt.

 

[Matthiasa]

1.5 million years from now , if we hadn't destroyed ourselves first, we would have technology that would be able to destroy any of the stuff it sent our way.

In fact that far from now we would probably be able to take out the star itself.

 

[rivan]

It's coming right for us!

 

[zinfamous]

It's coming right for us!

someone call Willis and Aflec!

 

[Epic Fail]

someone call Willis and Aflec!

What is an insurance duck going to do about end of the world? :hmm:

 

[SphinxnihpS]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(star)

I assume this is what they are talking about?

Ass!

 

[CycloWizard]

Who has verified that their data analysis is stellar? Could be a computational error.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Who has verified that their data analysis is stellar? Could be a computational error.

Wait a minute, are you telling me science makes errors when predicting doomsday scenarios? :hmm:

 

[darkxshade]

So is this like our Mayan prediction that they're going to create solarnet memes over?

 

[OCGuy]

People are smart enough to know not to 100% believe a weather report 3 days out, but still believe this stuff...

 

[Eli]

holy hell thats a long time. id hope by then the human race has colonized thousands of star systems.

In the grand scheme of things, 1.5 million years is a mere blip on the radar... But yeah.

 

[Eli]

People are smart enough to know not to 100% believe a weather report 3 days out, but still believe this stuff...

Completely different animal. Weather is extremely dynamic with an incredible amount of variables. Until the mid 1990s, forecasting weather more than a week out was nearly impossible.

The variables in space are more or less known. We can determine velocity and trajectory fairly easily, and it's difficult for those things to change once in motion - without extra energy.

That's one reason why we can send probes to other planets. The solar Jet Stream isn't going to suddenly change and blow our shit off course.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

holy hell thats a long time. id hope by then the human race has colonized thousands of star systems.

I will do my part and impregnate as many [good looking] women as I can to produce the labor needed to colonize all those stars.

I'll need at least three [good looking] women to step up to my plate per day of daddy will get bored.:awe:

 

[Fritzo]

People are smart enough to know not to 100% believe a weather report 3 days out, but still believe this stuff...

Well, this is a little more reliable than weather forcasting because you have a large mass with no resistance that is following a course charted for 20 years.

This isn't as bad as it sounds, as the star will probably disturb small bodies in the outer solar system, and may send in a "comet shower". It could also rip away or alter the orbit of smaller bodies like Pluto or some of the other dwarf planets. I imagine if we're still around by then, we will have sufficient technology to divert any comets from hitting the planet.

You know that game Asteroids? It will be exactly like that.

 

[Miramonti]

Thanks, I'll be sure to cancel Netflix in advance.

 

[darkxshade]

Completely different animal. Weather is extremely dynamic with an incredible amount of variables. Until the mid 1990s, forecasting weather more than a week out was nearly impossible.

The variables in space are more or less known. We can determine velocity and trajectory fairly easily, and it's difficult for those things to change once in motion - without extra energy.

That's one reason why we can send probes to other planets. The solar Jet Stream isn't going to suddenly change and blow our shit off course.

Here's a question, did they take a look at what may or may not intercept this star while it's on course to the solar system? 1.5 million light years is a lot of distance and time to account for.

You can see a car going in a straight line on an intercept course 10 blocks out to hit a pedestrian if it doesn't stop based on your calculations. But did you account for the red lights?

 

[Rubycon]

Wow so in ten years at the going rate of reliability specifications our hard drives will still be working then!

 

[Regs]

Something Al Gore can finally write about?