We will be in deep S**t in about 1.5 million years.....

[n2doc]

Orange Dwarf Confirmed to be On Likely Collision Course With Our Solar System
Gliese 710 should arrive sometime within the next 1.5 million years
By Jeremy HsuPosted 03.12.2010 at 1:57 pm



Our solar system's 'hood may get a bit rougher sometime during the next 1.5 million years. An astronomer has given an 86 percent chance for a neighboring star to smash into the frozen Oort Cloud surrounding the outskirts of the solar system, and may scatter some comets toward Earth, Technology Review reports.

That's not the only close encounter for our sun, according to Vadim Bobylev at the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. He combined data from several databases of stars and found at least nine more stars that have already swung past the sun or will do so in the future.

The data on Gliese 710, an orange dwarf star, comes from position and velocity measurements of about 100,000 stars in the Hipparcos Catalogue published in 1997. Updates for the Hipparcos data in 2007 allowed Bobylev to calculate the likelihood that Gliese 710 might smash into our solar system.

A hail of comets sweeping toward Earth from that collision could pose a problem, given the relatively pathetic investment in detecting incoming space threats. The loose chunks of ice debris within a comet's gaseous body might also prove more of a nightmare than solid asteroids, and scientists still don't know exactly how to deal with the rockier cousins.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-03/incoming-star-could-send-shower-comets-flying-toward-earth

[liberal N proud]

1. What are the odds that the human race will survive on this planet that long?

[nebenaube]

2. nil n/t

[Deep13]

4. We should leave a note for the super-intelligent ostrich people...

...who succeed us.

[n2doc]

5. More likely they'll be Roach or Ant descendants... n/t

[indepat]

9. Somewhere nil and none?

:)

[ananda]

10. I wouldn't bet money past 200 years from now.

Seriously.

[qazplm]

11. based on what would you bet

that not a single human would be left in 200 years?

Even if global warming were ten times worse than expected, even if there were nuclear holocaust on top of it, the odds of the entire human race becoming extinct in 200 years barring a global asteroid strike or some other sort of extinction level event are astronomical.

[Phoonzang]

13. The human race won't be here, but something we evolved into or

genetically engineered ourselves into might.

[47of74]

3. No prob, we'll put a note in to have Starfleet dispatch the Enterprise...

...they'll solve the problem right away.

[YankeyMCC]

6. Duck! No wait Now...No wait Now!

no wait, wait....

[bergie321]

7. The bugs

Are launching their attack!

[donco]

8. I wonder if we will have single payer by then? nt

[pokerfan]

12. Thanks

I added a reminder to my Google Calendar.

[denbot]

14. I wonder if previous stellar close passes were associated with extinction events.

That might make an interesting paper.

[Ganja Ninja]

15. That would be interesting to know ....

which stars have had close encounters with the solar system in the past and how long ago.