It was already known that we were totally doomed, but now there is a new and exciting scenario. In this one, comets rain down on us from the Ooort Cloud, said comets loosened by contact and interaction with a star called Gliese 710.
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\nGliese 710 is one of a handful of stars that have had recent interactions with our solar system, or plan to in the future.<\/p>\n
there is 86 percent chance that Gliese 710 will plough through the Oort Cloud of frozen stuff that extends some 0.5 parsecs into space.<\/p>\n
That may sound like a graze but it is likely to have serious consequences. Such an approach would send an almighty shower of comets into the Solar System which will force us to keep our heads down for a while. And a probability of 86 percent is about as close to certainty as this kind of data can get.<\/p>\n
The good news is that Bobylev says the chances of Gliese 710 penetrating further into the Solar System, inside the Kuiper Belt, are much smaller, just 1 in a 1000. So that’s all right, then. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n