A new study says our solar system could get chaotic within three billion years. As the Sun ages and loses mass, planetary orbits may get wobbly or even get flung into deep space. Scientists showed that this unpredictable change mostly affects giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn in many simulations.
A new study says our solar system could get a lot more chaotic much earlier than scientists once thought.
As the Sun ages and eventually becomes a white dwarf, it will lose mass in sudden, uneven bursts, shaking up the balance that keeps planets in line.
This could mean planetary orbits go wobbly or even get flung out of the solar system within three billion years.
Astrophysicists Konstantin Batygin and Jim Fuller ran computer models showing that this unpredictable mass loss mostly affects giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn.
In about 90% of their simulations, planetary paths stretched out or got unstable, with some planets possibly being ejected into deep space.
The study challenges old ideas about a smooth, gradual change for our solar system, and reminds us just how wild space can be as stars grow old.