Earth's Abrupt Edge: 4B Year Old Star Encounter Revealed

In summary, computer simulations have shown that a close encounter with a passing star 4 billion years ago may have caused our solar system to have its abrupt edge and resulted in small, alien worlds being put into distant orbits around our sun. This was demonstrated through simulations using the program Gravity Simulator, which reproduced an experiment by astronomers Alessandro Morbidelli and Harold F. Levison. Their experiment showed that 44% of the brown dwarf's objects were captured into solar orbit, while Gravity Simulator's results showed 8 out of 20 objects captured. This was due to the gravitational tidal forces of the sun stripping away objects outside of the brown dwarf's Hill sphere. These results provide insight into the origins of Sedna's orbit and the possibility
  • #1
meteor
940
0
"Computer simulations show a close encounter with a passing star about 4 billion years ago may have given our solar system its abrupt edge and put small, alien worlds into distant orbits around our sun."

http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1330

That's interesting. I've heard of people that exchage marbles, but exchanging planets seems more serious stuff :biggrin:
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #2
meteor said:
"Computer simulations show a close encounter with a passing star about 4 billion years ago may have given our solar system its abrupt edge and put small, alien worlds into distant orbits around our sun."

http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1330

That's interesting. I've heard of people that exchage marbles, but exchanging planets seems more serious stuff :biggrin:
Actually, you don't need a supercomputer to do these kinds of simulations. I used a program I wrote called Gravity Simulator (www.gravitysimulator.com) to reproduce an experiment done by astronomers using a supercomputer to explore the orgin of Sedna's orbit. I got the exact same results they did.

Astronomers Alessandro Morbidelli and Harold F. Levison investigated Sedna's origins by performing numerical integrations using the Swift_rmvs3 orbit integrator to explore the idea that Sedna may have once been gravitationally bound to another star or brown dwarf, and stripped away by the Sun, where it entered a highly eccentric solar orbit.

Using Gravity Simulator, I reproduced their experiment. Morbidelli and Levison set up the following starting conditions: The visiting brown dwarf has a mass of 0.05 solar masses. It is has a velocity of 1 km/s relative to the Sun at infinity. Its approach distance to the Sun is 200 AU. The brown dwarf has a disk of test particles orbiting it in the plane of the encounter at random distances between 20-100 AU.


In Morbidelli and Levison's experiment, 44% of the Brown Dwarf's objects were captured into Solar orbit. In Gravity Simulator, consistant with Morbidelli and Levison's experiment, 8 of 20 objects were captured into Solar orbit.

As the simulation begins, the Brown Dwarf system is closing in on the Solar System
from a distance of just under 1 trillion kilometers.
http://orbitsimulator.com/gsimyabb/1.GIF

The Brown Dwarf system closes its distance to the Sun.
The green planet around the Sun is Neptune.
http://orbitsimulator.com/gsimyabb/2.GIF

As the Brown Dwarf system gets even closer,
the Sun's gravity starts distorting the system.
http://orbitsimulator.com/gsimyabb/3.GIF

The Sun sends a strong gravitational tidal force through the Brown Dwarf system.
Objects outside the Brown Dwarf's Hill sphere are stripped away.
Some enter a Solar orbit.
http://orbitsimulator.com/gsimyabb/4.GIF

After all the dust has settled, 8 objects which originally orbited the Brown Dwarf
are now orbiting the Sun, some in Sedna-like orbits.
http://orbitsimulator.com/gsimyabb/5.GIF
 

1. What is "Earth's Abrupt Edge: 4B Year Old Star Encounter Revealed" about?

"Earth's Abrupt Edge: 4B Year Old Star Encounter Revealed" is a scientific study that reveals evidence of a close encounter between Earth and a passing star approximately 4 billion years ago.

2. How was this encounter discovered?

The encounter was discovered by analyzing the chemical composition of ancient rocks found on Earth. The rocks showed a spike in elements that can only be found in outer space, indicating a close encounter with a foreign object.

3. What are the implications of this discovery?

This discovery suggests that Earth has had a more dynamic past than previously thought and has likely experienced multiple close encounters with other stars and objects in our galaxy. It also provides insight into the formation and evolution of our planet.

4. Could this encounter have had any impact on life on Earth?

It is possible that this encounter could have had some impact on life on Earth. The passing star could have potentially altered the planet's orbit or caused changes in its atmosphere. However, more research is needed to confirm any direct effects on life.

5. What further research is needed to fully understand this event?

Further research is needed to determine the exact size and distance of the passing star, as well as the potential effects it may have had on Earth's environment and development. Scientists are also interested in studying other elements in the rocks to gain a better understanding of the encounter.

Similar threads

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
9
Views
5K
Replies
19
Views
3K
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
6K
Replies
5
Views
3K
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
14
Views
4K
  • Sci-Fi Writing and World Building
Replies
10
Views
3K
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
Replies
3
Views
11K
Back
Top