• Question: Will the Earth ever collide with the sun or any other planets? If it will which one/ones and why?

    Asked by HannahD to Heather, Helen, Hugh, Jane, Julian on 16 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Julian Onions

      Julian Onions answered on 16 Nov 2014:

      It is very unlikely that the Earth will ever collide with the sun or any other planet. The Earth is in a stable orbit, and it would take a lot of force to nudge it from it’s orbit. The nearest large mass, besides the moon is Venus, and that is about 42 million kilometers away when it is at it’s nearest, and it doesn’t have enough mass to alter our orbit.

      Jupiter might be able to if it was closer, but it is much further away.
      So all in all, we’re unlikely to move, unless something unusual happens, such as a nearby star coming close to us.
      If the Earth were to be knocked out of its orbit, then its probably most like to fall into the Sun, as that is the biggest thing around, so would attract us the most. However its also possible we’d just change to another orbit, or be kicked out of the solar system. However as I said these are all VERY unlikely scenarios.

      It’s more likely that the Earth will get collided into by something like a meteor or a comet. These are much smaller, but could be catastrophic to life on Earth. A big meteor helped contribute to the end of the dinosaurs, and killed many species on the Earth, however the Earth didn’t change its orbit despite the impact.

    • Photo: Heather Campbell

      Heather Campbell answered on 16 Nov 2014:

      At the end of the suns life it will puff up as a red giant, and that might well ingulf the earth. Or send it on a much wider orbit which could cause it to hit another planet!
      But as Julian says comets are much more likely to hit the Earth!

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