10-25-2018, 11:12 AM
The expected encounter with Gliese 710 will occur in 1.29 million years, instead of the previously calculated 1.36 million years; hence it will occur 70,000 years earlier.
I was sceptical about this event, especially since the star is currently 63 light-years away; how can they predict this stars' motion so far into the future? However, using Gaia data, the brothers Carlos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos have calculated a range of potential encounters for this star- and they all occur within the boundaries of our Oort Cloud. This is likely to be the most significant stellar encounter for the Sun in the next twenty million years, at least.
I was sceptical about this event, especially since the star is currently 63 light-years away; how can they predict this stars' motion so far into the future? However, using Gaia data, the brothers Carlos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos have calculated a range of potential encounters for this star- and they all occur within the boundaries of our Oort Cloud. This is likely to be the most significant stellar encounter for the Sun in the next twenty million years, at least.