Tag

Orbital Evolution

All articles tagged with #orbital evolution

astronomy1 year ago

"Earth's Orbit Altered by Passing Star, Scientists Find"

A recent study suggests that a passing star, HD-7977, which came within 31,000 astronomical units of the Sun nearly 3 million years ago, may have altered Earth's orbit. Researchers argue that such "stellar encounters" could have a significant impact on Earth's orbital and environmental evolution, potentially influencing climate fluctuations. These findings add uncertainty to understanding Earth's geological record and could have implications for explaining past climate anomalies, such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

astronomy1 year ago

"Interstellar Visitors: How Passing Stars Changed Our Solar System's Orbits"

Astronomers have found that passing stars have significantly impacted the long-term orbital evolution of Earth and other planets, leading to uncertainties in predicting past orbital behavior. These stellar encounters alter the gravitational perturbations on the giant planets in our solar system, subsequently affecting Earth's orbital trajectory and potentially influencing ancient climate anomalies. The study highlights the importance of considering passing stars in astronomical simulations to improve our understanding of Earth's orbital history and its connection to past climate variations.

astronomy2 years ago

Surviving Against the Odds: The Unlikely Escape of a Forbidden Planet

A study using data from NASA's TESS mission has discovered a giant planet in a close orbit around its star, defying expectations that it would have been engulfed by the star's expansion. The planet, known as HD 11755b, is located about 1,400 light-years away and has a mass about 1.5 times that of Jupiter. The findings challenge current theories about the orbital evolution of giant planets around evolved stars and provide insights into the survival of planets in close-in orbits.