06-02-2022, 09:58 PM
A few years ago, a rogue planet was discovered just 20 light years from our Solar System. This planet, named SIMP J01365663+0933473, is around 12.7 times the mass of Jupiter, and has a magnetic field around 200 times stronger. So, what would happen if this rogue planet - or any rogue planet - entered the Solar System?
The following short video, by "What If?", explores this scenario:
This isn't a very long video (about 3 minutes and 42 seconds), but I'll summarise the main points anyway:
Of course, this was a very short video, which only scratched the surface of the topic at hand . So, if you've got any more thoughts, then do let us know!
The following short video, by "What If?", explores this scenario:
This isn't a very long video (about 3 minutes and 42 seconds), but I'll summarise the main points anyway:
- If the planet crashed into the Earth, we'd obviously be toast . But the Solar System is almost all empty space - so the chances of this are slim to none.
- More likely, the rogue planet would disturb the orbits of the other planets, making them all more elliptical. For Earth, this would mean we'd have exceptionally hot summers, and exceptionally cold winters (either of which might prove unsurvivable).
- If we did manage to survive these much harsher summers and winters, then we might want to re-think our energy sources. Solar panels would be great in summer, but very inefficient during the long winters. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, would become our best bet: we'd want to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to keep ourselves warm in winter!
- Failing this, our only chance to survive might be to learn to live deep underwater. From here, we might evolve into an entirely new species.
Of course, this was a very short video, which only scratched the surface of the topic at hand . So, if you've got any more thoughts, then do let us know!
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