- #1
Simfish
Gold Member
- 823
- 2
Well, it seems that the chances of a catastrophic interaction with another star (dead or alive) is very minimal. We also know that the chances of this interaction are still minimal once the Milky Way will collide with the Andromeda galaxy (this may increase the total number of stars by a factor of 2-3). There are probably more planets than stars, but many of the planets will be destroyed when their parent stars become giants (as an approximate, we can increase our estimate of potentially interactive objects by a factor of 5 if we include planets). Plus, a planet must be much closer to the solar system if it is to have any chance of disturbing the orbits of the planets in the solar system.
But there may be other factors and uncertainties in this. Planets have less mass/inertia, so they are more prone to orbital disturbances from supernovae and interactions with nearby stellar systems. Now, maybe orbital disturbances may have a chance of ejecting the planet from the galaxy's plane (in which case the chances of an interaction might go down [since it spends less time in the plane where it could potentially interact with the sun], but in which case the relative speeds of the two objects would significantly increase]). The galactic region would also matter too (the more metallic center would probably have more rogue planets than the less metallic outer regions), but in this case, we probably don't have to adjust our approximates (since our approximates are closely tied in with the stars surrounding us). The one major thing is that the Andromeda Galaxy may have its own rogue planets, and when the Milky Way collides with the Andromeda, then the chances of interaction may increase, especially if our solar system happens to come too unfortunately close to the inner regions of the Andromeda.
But there may be other factors and uncertainties in this. Planets have less mass/inertia, so they are more prone to orbital disturbances from supernovae and interactions with nearby stellar systems. Now, maybe orbital disturbances may have a chance of ejecting the planet from the galaxy's plane (in which case the chances of an interaction might go down [since it spends less time in the plane where it could potentially interact with the sun], but in which case the relative speeds of the two objects would significantly increase]). The galactic region would also matter too (the more metallic center would probably have more rogue planets than the less metallic outer regions), but in this case, we probably don't have to adjust our approximates (since our approximates are closely tied in with the stars surrounding us). The one major thing is that the Andromeda Galaxy may have its own rogue planets, and when the Milky Way collides with the Andromeda, then the chances of interaction may increase, especially if our solar system happens to come too unfortunately close to the inner regions of the Andromeda.