Can life exist if the sun goes out? What happens if the sun goes out: an apocalypse or a new life? Why the sun can go out or explode

For millions of years, each new day of the Earth begins with the rising of the Sun in the east and ends with its sunset in the west. Historical epochs replace each other, some empires collapse and others are born, wars are declared and truces are concluded, and the Sun still moves in a measured way across the sky.

But does anyone think about what will happen if one day the sun suddenly ceases to exist? Against the background of this event, everything that human civilization is busy with today will turn out to be nothing more than a mouse fuss on a sinking ship. But this may happen one day.

It is known from astronomy textbooks that a star like the Sun has lived for about ten billion years. Of these, about 4.57 billion years have already passed, so it is not difficult to calculate that for about 5.5 billion years more mankind can go about their business on Earth without worrying that someone will suddenly extinguish the "eternal light bulb" over his head.

This is the official state of affairs, but a number of rather serious physicists thinks differently. Dutch astrophysicist Pierce Van der Meer, an expert from the European Space Agency, unexpectedly announced several years ago that on July 1, 2005, a large plasma ejection occurred on the Sun.

Astronomers have calculated that the diameter of the prominence was more than thirty diameters of the Earth, and its length exceeded a record 350 thousand kilometers. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the planet, the release of matter occurred in the opposite direction from the Earth.

However, scientists and, in particular, Van der Meer, were in no hurry to rejoice. According to an astrophysicist who has been studying the behavior of the Sun for many years, our star will soon explode. Moreover, the scientist did not call the terms at all cosmic proportions, the life of the luminary and, accordingly, humanity, the Dutchman allotted only about six years. It turned out that the end of the world was supposed to come in 2011-2012.

The astrophysicist's prophecy quickly spread through the world media, causing a certain panic among the impressionable inhabitants of the planet, fueled by the Mayan prophecy, who also mentioned the death of the next Sun. In his conclusions, Van der Meer relied on data on the strange change in the internal temperature of the Sun.

For many years, the temperature of the luminary was constant and amounted to about 15 million degrees Celsius. But between 1994 and 2005, the sun's temperature suddenly jumped to 27 million degrees - almost doubled. Based on these data, the scientist concluded that, heating up at such a fast pace, the Sun will quickly turn into super new star.

According to Van der Meer, the end of civilization will be colorful, but not long. First, a blinding flash will occur, followed by streams of X-ray, ultraviolet and gamma radiation will destroy all life on our planet.

The earth will heat up to several thousand degrees, and the oceans will simply evaporate. However, 2011 passed, mankind happily survived December 2012, 2014 passed, 2018 started, and the cataclysm never happened.

However, one should not rejoice ahead of time, since errors are possible in predictions and such global calculations. Today, humanity needs to understand whether the Sun is really planning to explode, and if "yes", then approximately when it can happen.

It turned out that scientists, in fact, have been thinking in recent years about changing the official point of view regarding the model of the evolution of solar-type stars. For example, Simon Campbell, a scientist at Monash University, published a paper in which he argues that stars similar to the Sun, as a rule, skip the stage of old age and die immediately.

The researcher made a similar conclusion based on the study of the globular cluster NGC 6752, which, with its history, made it clear that theories about the evolution of solar-type stars are erroneous. For a long time, it was believed that scientists knew almost everything about the evolution of stars and their aging periods.

It was assumed that the sun, according to this theory, in about 5 billion years will lose its atmosphere and turn into a red giant - a star that burned out all its fuel. And this red giant will first swell up to the orbit of the Earth, and then shrink to the size white dwarf to become an ordinary star again.

Now, after studying the globular cluster NGC 6752 with the VLT telescope, it turns out that stars like the Sun really do not live to the moment of extreme old age, and their lifespan directly depends on the amount of sodium content.

It so happened that in the globular cluster NGC 6752 there are two generations of stars at once. This interesting fact allowed astrophysicists to compare the amount of sodium in "old" and "new" stars for the example of more than 130 stars. The findings were the most striking: they actually confirmed that a star could explode in its prime.

What scares scientists the most is that the sun behaves unpredictably. The gigantic release of matter in 2005 was not preceded by any of the signs that usually warned of similar cataclysms. Most often, famous sunspots- dark areas on the surface of the luminary, indicating a change or wobble magnetic field The sun.

Even now strong magnetic storms on the sun sometimes not only affect the health of meteorological people, but also destroy power lines. What can we say about the emission of solar matter. And if you also imagine that once again this prominence will be directed towards the Earth.

Just think: it will reach the surface of our planet in 8 minutes. This is about the same as the time of the arrival of ballistic missiles to the borders of the United States or the USSR during the confrontation of times cold war... Only this time, if the prominence pierces through the Earth's atmosphere, no bunker will help.

However, domestic astrophysicists believe that one should not look at things so pessimistically. In their opinion, Van der Meer and the admirers of him and similar theories are mistaken. After all, the intensity, and not the strength of solar radiation, has been constant for many, including recent years.

This would not have been possible if the temperature of the Sun rose as the Dutchman says. Consequently, he is either mistaken, or deliberately, wishing to become famous, creates an exaggerated sensation.

A number of other scientists argue that such temperature increases are possible, but these are the so-called cycles of solar activity, lasting 11, 22, 100 or 400 years, when after a period of temperature increase there is a period of its decrease.

Moreover, the fatal outbreak that took place, which alarmed the entire planet, occurred in 2005, just in Last year 11 year cycle of activity. At the same time, physicists all over the world, without saying a word, assure that even if the Dutchman is right, then at least several tens, or even hundreds of thousands of years should pass before the explosion of the Sun.

Nevertheless, if humanity wants to live forever, it needs to take care of the construction of huge starships, which could be resettled by human civilization, so as not to depend on the whims of its star.

Used materials from the article by Dmitry Tumanov from the site

08.11.2016 19:08 2181

What happens if the sun goes out.

What does the sun mean to us? It warms us with its warmth, gives us light and energy. Without the sun, we would never know what a day is, it simply would not exist. And if you imagine for a moment that the sun will suddenly go out? What will happen then? We are so accustomed to knowing that the sun is always shining that it is very difficult for us to imagine that this may not happen one day. However, such a thought is not as fantastic as it might seem.

If one day it happens that the sun really stops shining, then an eternal night will come, moreover, without moonlight, as the moon does not shine itself, but only reflects sunlight... Then winter will come, also eternal, and on the entire planet earth at once. The temperature will drop to about minus 150 degrees Celsius and will remain so forever.

Life in such conditions is practically not real. Solar energy is central to the origin and maintenance of life on earth. It launches many processes on our planet that are vital for all living organisms. Without it, life on earth cannot exist for a long time, and even more so to emerge. Therefore, immediately after the termination of the flow of the sun's energy to the surface of the earth, it (the earth) will begin to gradually freeze. According to scientists, within 45 days the planet will finally be covered with a thick layer of ice.

The land will be the first to freeze, especially the regions far from water sources - for example, deserts. Plants will die within a few days. The seas and oceans will be the last refuge for solar energy on the freezing land. The temperature in the ocean, even at a depth of 35 meters, is about +15 degrees. As a result of the onset of a sharp cold, all bodies with temperatures above zero will rapidly cool down, including people.

About a month after the sun goes out, atmospheric gases crystallize. They will become solid, it will look like precipitation, something like frost, that is, it will become impossible to breathe oxygen (if there is still someone to breathe). In addition, many people will begin to die from hypothermia, especially in those countries and continents where there is never a winter.

Such a catastrophe will undoubtedly force people to look for other sources of heat in order to survive, such as clouds that will keep the earth from cooling for a while. But the clouds will also disappear after a short time, since the water, due to the lack of heat, will no longer evaporate. Perhaps people will start burning the forest in order to heat the air and thereby cause moisture to evaporate. Mineral resources and nuclear fuel can also serve as energy sources.

But the main problem in the fact that humanity will be deprived of the main element necessary to maintain life - oxygen, which was produced by plants. We'll have to create an artificial environment for their cultivation. For a certain number of people, salvation will be possible if they fly into space. but modern technologies will not allow them to stay there for a very long time and space will become their last refuge.

In general, from all of the above, we can conclude that if the sun goes out, life on our planet will end very quickly. Still, you shouldn't panic. According to the calculations of modern astronomers, the sun will shine for the joy of people for about 5 billion more years, and this, as you yourself understand, is a very, very long period of time.

Today we will talk about such a dark topic: what will happen to our planet if there is no sun ... and will there be anything at all.

In order to understand what can happen with the death or elimination of the Sun as the main luminary on the planet, you must first assess the role of the Sun during its life. Somehow, this information cannot fit into one article, people have been studying the most bright star and to this day it remains a part of the mystery for them, but let's try to briefly reflect the essence.

If the Sun goes out, the Earth will die in just 8 minutes 20 seconds

The sun

The sun is the most powerful natural nuclear reactor! The temperature inside the Sun is over 16 million degrees Celsius, outside over 5 thousand, and the temperature is gradually increasing.

The sun is now about 4.5 billion years old, this is at least half of its life, that is, it can still live in an ideal situation no less than what it already has.

No wonder even the Earth is one of the planets of the solar system. The sun "controls" everything in our Universe, around the brightest and main star satellites, planets, asteroids, meteorites rotate. The sun, depending on the distance and approach of the Earth, heats our planet, and winter or summer, autumn, spring begins on it, and when the Earth rotates around its axis reverse side- we have night, then day. In summer, there is a short night cycle, since the Earth is close to the Sun at that moment, so it illuminates the planet better than in winter time of the year.

Few of us even imagine the situation that the Sun will not warm forever and may go out one day. This is perhaps the last thing a person thinks about, walking on the mortal earth, being filled with thoughts.

And in vain ... The sun is actually not eternal.

So, we will consider the scientific versions later, but for now, what will happen if the sun goes out in the opinion of naive earthlings.

- It will immediately become cold, dark and all living things will die, perhaps within a few seconds, and possibly days.

- On the first day everything will be familiar, but so the word came night, on the 9th day the temperature on the whole Earth will become the same minus, on the 20th day the reservoirs will freeze, in two months the temperature will drop below 60 degrees Celsius, in 6 years the Earth will be in the orbit of Pluto, in 10 years the temperature will be minus 150 degrees.

- For the first minutes, we will not even understand that the Sun has gone out, then a state similar to night will come, gradually the Earth will start to cool down, through the temperature it will reach minus.

- Before going out, the Sun will increase and swallow the Earth, but if we imagine that it will simply “turn off”, then the Earth will become dark, cold outside, but inside it will still be full of hot lava.

- The gravity by which we "fly" around the Sun will disappear, and we will fly through the window at a speed of more than 1000 km per hour into the distant unknown, and our planet, de-orbiting, will collide with some meteorite.

- Only a small part of people on the whole Earth will survive - several thousand, they will settle in a bunker, they will extract energy using autonomous nuclear power plants, but in 30 years all reserves of uranium and plutonium will run out and all people will die.

But most importantly, the versions of why the Sun can lie abruptly go out:

- Will end it life cycle, the length of which no mortal knows, will end abruptly and unexpectedly,

- The sun will incinerate itself, that is, the thermonuclear reaction on its surface will reach maximum values, after which it will explode, -

- Man, by his destructive actions in relation to nature, to the atmosphere, will somehow affect the life of the Sun and it will go out, before malfunctioning.

What conclusion and conclusion can be drawn from the report? According to people, the “death” of the Sun can come unexpectedly, for no reason, all that humanity expects after the departure of the Sun is death.

Now let's talk from a scientific, a little philosophical and religious point of view.

Where did the sun come from? It was created by God:

“1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 But the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the water.

3 And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.

4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light day and the darkness night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven [to illuminate the earth and] to separate day from night, and for signs and seasons and days and years;

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light on the earth. And it became so.

16 And God created two great luminaries: a greater one shone to govern the day, and a lesser one shone to govern the night, and the stars; " ("Being")

Another option:

“The solar system emerged from one large cloud of gas and dust. This cloud began to contract under the influence of gravity, as a result, the main part of the substance contained in it was collected in a central clot, from which the SUN subsequently emerged. However, since this cloud was not initially stationary, but rotated a little, then not all the mass of the cloud was concentrated in the central clot. "

It is even possible that both of these options are not mutually exclusive.

Why can the Sun go out from a scientific point of view?

In fact - no matter how we drink today the surprise and danger of an explosion on the brightest star, about the reality of its abrupt disappearance - do not believe it! Even according to the most conservative estimates, the Sun will live for another 1 to 4.5 billion years. But we do not know, of course, what awaits us tomorrow, and if we proceed from the fact that the world was created (by God, by chance or otherwise), then we can also come to the conclusion that the world can disappear as unexpectedly as it appeared, in including the sun. In connection with this hypothetical possibility, a number of scientists predicted what would happen to the planet after the death of the Sun, in particular Einstein, specialists from NASA, Harvard, etc.

We were predicted the end of the world in the form of a "blackout" of the Sun in 2012, and several times before that, but the planet is alive. We are told about solar flares, about its anomalous activity, about Greenhouse effect, about the harmfulness of the currently incandescent shell and radiation. However, before the death of the star, according to peaceful forecasts, there is still half of her life.

Scientists have found that stars of a similar type and mass, like the Sun, live for about 10 billion years, and it lives for half, gradually it consumes its hydrogen fuel, and the temperature will rise, after a billion years it will enter the stage of a red giant, no earlier than 3 billions of years, the Sun will shine twice as bright, water will evaporate, all forms of life on Earth will be impossible. By the period of 10 billion years from the birth of the Sun, it will enter a period of dying, the process of burning of the shell will begin, the Earth will be absorbed by the Sun, or it will be dried up and deprived of the atmosphere.

For example, short description"Death" of the Sun according to observations of the death of another star after its transformation into a dwarf:

“American researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, as a result of observing the behavior of the star WD 1145 + 017, simultaneously recorded within one system a white dwarf, the remains of another planet and space debris, reports Sci-News.

Andrew Vanderburg, astrophysicist, head of the research group: "We caught a white dwarf at the moment when it destroys its planet and scatters the remnants on the surface of the star."

The scientist explained that as soon as a star turns into a red giant, it destabilizes the orbits of the planets around it and absorbs them. It was this moment that the NASA telescope recorded. According to Vanderburg, the same fate awaits the Earth. Scientists predict that the sun will swallow our planet in about 5-7 billion years. ".

But the transformation into a white dwarf will not be momentary, as you understand, this is again a long period, multimillion, multi-billion, perhaps, and even, having become a white dwarf, the star will be able to emit light, but heat is unlikely ... Like a car without fuel, by inertia there will be rolling, however, will no longer show the strength and former activity. Now the star is 30% brighter than at birth, and it increases brightness, volume. In several million years, the temperature of the Earth will rise by 40 degrees, water from the oceans will begin to evaporate, the entire population will have to hide in shelters, bunkers during the day, and only come to the surface at night.

Even if suddenly, for unknown mystical reasons, the Sun suddenly goes out, then, as Einstein established in the course of his research, people will not notice anything special for 8 minutes, after which either imminent death will come, or - “Then irreversible consequences will begin, the impossibility of photosynthesis, all plants will die, energy sources will run out. However, in addition to those who say that after the death of the sun, our planet will face the same fate, there are those who argue that it will be possible to heat dwellings with volcanic ash and life will be possible, only the warmest weather on Earth will be minus 17 degrees Celsius, will disappear trees, etc. ".

It will be possible to live in bunkers, switch to an autonomous mode of keeping and maintaining life, for several decades it is quite possible to exist according to the model of scientists. If during this time a person does not learn to develop resources from the remaining opportunities, then he is in danger of inevitable death, but death threatens him in any case, on the cold and dark Earth people will not last long. Unlucky to be born new people at this time, they literally will not see the white light ... The only way to somehow survive is the use of uranium and plutonium reserves for the creation and operation of nuclear power plants.

Another variant of the "death" of the Sun is not its death in the literal sense, but the exit of the planet from under the habitable zone of the star. The earth is at an optimal distance with the luminary, if closer - the temperature rises, moisture dries up, further - everything will freeze. So today the Earth is actively leaving this zone - according to the conclusions of scientists. When the planet leaves the habitable zone of the Sun, it will lose the resources necessary for life, according to the forecasts of astrophysicists - the Earth began to leave this zone much faster than predicted, and we only have some 1.75 billion years left to live under the light of the star. More precisely, not to us, but to our planet.

According to any, even the most dangerous forecasts, the Sun will live at least a billion more for sure, of course, if nothing supernatural happens, which we mentioned. Therefore, you should not be very afraid that our star will go out.

Based on the available research, it is impossible to establish with accuracy what will happen to the Earth if the Sun goes out and whether the Sun can go out unexpectedly. There are only the assumptions described in the article, including the great scientists. However, it is clear that even if the death of the Sun does not lead to the immediate death of all living things on the planet, it will lead to the gradual death of all living things. The sun means too much to us, despite the fact that we do not notice it. Life on Earth, even without research, it is clear, will be impossible in a full-fledged format without the brightest star.

But still, questions remain, especially after delving into the religious essence of the creation of the Sun. I have given in the article above quotes from the Bible about the creation of the luminaries, the planet…. The question arises - if light was created before the stars, the Moon and the Sun, if man was created before the Moon and the Sun, like reservoirs and all living things - maybe life on Earth is then possible without the Sun? And the LIGHT OF THE DAY is possible without the light of the star?

Where did the light come from if not from the Sun? In general, everything is complicated ...

However, as Christians say, for the very fact that the Sun has risen over us today, we need to thank the higher powers. After all, it does not belong to us at all, and warms both the evil and the good.

We are accustomed to living under the Sun and take it for granted, and few people think about the fact that much on this Earth is not in our power, including the Sun.

It is also striking: the Sun, if it lives 4.5 billion years, and people have a maximum of 80-100, then it’s funny how dashingly they make predictions about the life of heavenly bodies, planets…. How do they know what will happen tomorrow and in how many billions of years the Sun will die ??

And in general: scientists are discussing the subject of the Sun, looking for ways out of the negative radiation, all somehow from an economically, pragmatically advantageous position. But the Sun is such a romance, one might say - one look at it sometimes makes you remember about eternity ... It is not for nothing that so many songs are dedicated to it, it is not for nothing that it worries us all.

Today we will talk about such a dark topic: what will happen to our planet if there is no sun ... and will there be anything at all.

In order to understand what can happen with the death or elimination of the Sun as the main luminary on the planet, you must first assess the role of the Sun during its life. Of course, this information will not fit into one article, people have been studying the brightest star for thousands of years and it still remains a part of a mystery for them, but let's try to briefly reflect the essence.

If the Sun goes out, the Earth will die in just 8 minutes 20 seconds

The sun

The sun is the most powerful natural nuclear reactor! The temperature inside the Sun is over 16 million degrees Celsius, outside over 5 thousand, and the temperature is gradually increasing.

The sun is now about 4.5 billion years old, this is at least half of its life, that is, it can still live in an ideal situation no less than what it already has.

No wonder even the Earth is one of the planets of the solar system. The sun "controls" everything in our Universe, satellites, planets, asteroids, meteorites revolve around the brightest and most important star. The sun, depending on the distance and approach of the Earth, heats our planet, and winter or summer, autumn, spring begins on it, and when the Earth turns around its axis with its reverse side, we have night, then day. In summer, the night cycle is short, since the Earth is close to the Sun at that moment, so it illuminates the planet better than in the winter season.

And in vain ... The sun is actually not eternal.

So, we will consider the scientific versions later, but for now, what will happen if the sun goes out in the opinion of naive earthlings.

- It will immediately become cold, dark and all living things will die, perhaps within a few seconds, and possibly days.

But most importantly, the versions of why the Sun can lie abruptly go out:

- His life cycle will end, the length of which no mortal knows, it will end abruptly and unexpectedly,

- The sun will incinerate itself, that is, the thermonuclear reaction on its surface will reach maximum values, after which it will explode, -

- Man, by his destructive actions in relation to nature, to the atmosphere, will somehow affect the life of the Sun and it will go out, before malfunctioning.

Now let's talk from a scientific, a little philosophical and religious point of view.

Where did the sun come from? It was created by God:

“1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 But the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the water.

3 And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.

4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light day and the darkness night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven [to illuminate the earth and] to separate day from night, and for signs and seasons and days and years;

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light on the earth. And it became so.

16 And God created two great luminaries: a greater one shone to govern the day, and a lesser one shone to govern the night, and the stars; " ("Being")

Another option:

“The solar system emerged from one large cloud of gas and dust. This cloud began to contract under the influence of gravity, as a result, the main part of the substance contained in it was collected in a central clot, from which the SUN subsequently emerged. However, since this cloud was not initially stationary, but rotated a little, then not all the mass of the cloud was concentrated in the central clot. "

It is even possible that both of these options are not mutually exclusive.

Why can the Sun go out from a scientific point of view?

We were predicted the end of the world in the form of a "blackout" of the Sun in 2012, and several times before that, but the planet is alive. We are told about flares on the Sun, about its anomalous activity, about the greenhouse effect, about the harmfulness of the now hot shell and radiation. However, before the death of the star, according to peaceful forecasts, there is still half of her life.

For example, here is a brief description of the "death" of the Sun according to observations of the death of another star after its transformation into a dwarf star:

“American researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, as a result of observing the behavior of the star WD 1145 + 017, simultaneously recorded within one system a white dwarf, the remains of another planet and space debris, reports Sci-News.

Andrew Vanderburg, astrophysicist, head of the research group: "We caught a white dwarf at the moment when it destroys its planet and scatters the remnants on the surface of the star."

The scientist explained that as soon as a star turns into a red giant, it destabilizes the orbits of the planets around it and absorbs them. It was this moment that the NASA telescope recorded. According to Vanderburg, the same fate awaits the Earth. Scientists predict that the sun will swallow our planet in about 5-7 billion years. ".

Where did the light come from if not from the Sun? In general, everything is complicated ...

We are accustomed to living under the Sun and take it for granted, and few people think about the fact that much on this Earth is not in our power, including the Sun.

The mass of the sun is about 333,000 times the mass of our planet and produces the same amount of energy as 100 billion hydrogen bombs every second. The gigantic mass makes this star the dominant gravitational force in the entire Solar system, reliably fixing all eight planets in their orbits. At the same time, the energy of the sun heats the Earth to the required extent for the emergence of a catalyst for life - water.

But what will happen if the sun suddenly picks up and disappears? Many people cannot even imagine a similar situation... Nevertheless, the problem posed is not as stupid as it seems at first glance. At least, this thought experiment was not neglected by Albert Einstein himself - well, based on his calculations, we will try to tell you what will actually happen to the Earth if a star suddenly goes out.

Gravity

Before Einstein asked the question, scientists believed that gravity changes instantly. If this were indeed the case, then the disappearance of the sun would instantly send all eight planets on an endless journey through the dark depths of the galaxy. But Einstein proved that the speed of light and the speed of gravity propagate at the same time - which means we will enjoy another eight whole minutes. ordinary life before we realize the disappearance of the sun.

Eternal night

The sun may just go out. In this case, humanity will not remain in complete darkness, on a planet filled with desperate madmen. The stars will still shine, factories will still work, and people may not start lighting the fires of the Inquisition for another decade. But photosynthesis will stop.

Most plants will die within a few days - but that's not what should worry us the most. The average temperature of the Earth will drop to -17 degrees Celsius in a week. By the end of the first year, our planet will begin to experience a new ice age.

Remains of life

Of course, most of life on Earth will cease to exist. In less than a month, almost all plants will die. Large trees will be able to survive for several more years, since they have large reserves of nutritious sucrose. But nothing will threaten some microorganisms - so, formally, life on Earth will be preserved.

Human survival

But what will happen to our species? Astronomy professor Eric Blackman is confident that we can survive without the Sun. This will happen thanks to volcanic heat, which can be used both for heating homes and for industrial purposes. The best place to live will be in Iceland: people here are already heating their homes with geothermal energy.

Endless journey

But worst of all, the absence of the Sun will rip our planet off the leash and send it on a long, long journey. The planet will rush in search of adventure - and, most likely, it will find it with ease. Unfortunately, this will not end very well for us: the slightest collision with another object will cause huge destruction. But there is also a more positive scenario: if the planet is blown away Milky way, then the Earth may well find itself a new star and enter a new orbit. In such an incredibly unlikely event, the people who have flown will become the first astronauts to cover such a significant distance.