A orange dwarf star known as Gliese 710 is headed toward our solar system from 63 light years out. It will likely smash through the Oort Cloud in about 1.45 million years according to new study based on revised estimates of the Hipparcos Catalogue released last week. The Oort Cloud is the region where are large number of comets are known to exist located beyond the Kuiper belt. The Cloud also represents the outer boundary of the heliosphere which shields out solar system from the deadly cosmic radiation.
If Gliese 710 does pass into the Oort Cloud, the star will likely propel a number of comets and other Cloud objects toward the inner solar system, showering Earth with deadly debris. That is if the cosmic radiation penentrating throught the heliosphere does not fry Earth first.
The study was performed by Vadim Bobylev, an astrophysicist with the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, and published in the peer-reviewed journal Astronomy Letters. Bobylev identified 9 different new stars that would pass within 6 light years of Earth based on the new calculations derived from revised radial velocity data in the Hipparcos catalog.
One star, Gliese 710, stood out because there is an 86% probability according to these new calculations that the star will pass through the Oort Cloud at a minimum in about 1.45 million years.
And Gliese 710 could come even closer. Or pass further away than projected. Calculating the trajectory of any celestial object is extremely complicated requiring complex mathematical algorithms. Only time will tell whether Bobylev's predictions are accurate.
For more reading:
Star Predicted to Blast Through the Solar System Discovery News
Future Shock From Gliese 710 Sky&Telescope
Hurtling star on a path to clip solar system New Scientist
Of course, if we don't get healthcare reform passed and climate protection legislation passed, none of us may be around to worry about Gliese 710.