The star named “Gliese 710” is moving at a speed of 51,499 km/h straight towards our solar system

Gliese 710, also known as HIP 89825, is an orange star with a mass of 0.6 M residing in the constellation Serpens Cauda. It is expected to pass close to the Sun in about 1.29 million years, at a minimum distance of 0.1663 light-years (10,520 astronomical units) (about 160 billion kilometers), or about a part from the current distance to ‘at Proxima Centauri.

At this distance, the luminosity would be comparable to that of the brightest planets, with a luminosity of about 2.7. (brighter than Mars in opposition). The actual motion of the star will peak at about one arc minute per year, an apparent rate of motion that can be discerned in human lifetimes.

Based on Gaia DR3 data, this timeline fits comfortably with the parameters of current models, including the next 15 million years.And as it travels through the Oort Cloud, we can expect an increase in comet activity in our solar system.

The star is currently traveling through space at about 32,000 mph (51,499 km/h) and is about 64 light-years away. (A light year is about 5,878,000,000,000 miles, or 9,461,000,000,000 km.)

Gliese 710 is about half the size of our Sun and is expected to approach Earth after 1 .35 million years from now, according to an article published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. in November

And when it arrives, the star may be just 77 light days from Earth – a light day equals the distance light travels in a day, or about 16 billion miles (26 billion km), computational researchers.

As far as we know, Gliese 710 is not expected to collide directly with Earth but will pass through the Oort Cloud, the crust of billions of icy objects at the edge of our solar system.

So, although 77 light days seems like a relatively safe distance, the accelerating star could break through the cloud and throw these icy objects and comets around the system. our sun.

Any of them has the potential to collide with Earth.

“Gliese 710 will cause an observable shower of comets with an average density of about 10 comets per year, lasting 3 to 4 million years,” the authors wrote.

The team from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland used measurements from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space observatory.

This new observatory is building the largest and most accurate 3D space catalog ever, totaling around 1 billion astronomical objects, meaning the data is 10 times more accurate than predicted. previously guessed.

Still has an error rate of about 50 percent, which means that Gliese 710 could actually pass just 40 light days away.

Some scientists speculate that a similar event, that of a star passing through the Oort Cloud, triggered the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.

However, the Gliese 710 event could make the dinosaur extinction seem relatively minor.

At its closest, it will be the brightest and fastest observable object in the sky, and as the authors say in the paper, it will be “the most disruptive encounter of the future.” and the world”. system’.

But it’s not the only celestial body worth worrying about. As many as 14 other stars could be within three light years of us at any time in the next million years.