This star can destroy the Earth

• This star could destroy the Earth

Every few years, mankind there are new reasons for concern. The predictions of Nostradamus, the curse of Rasputin, the dying delirium Vanga and even forgotten all the gods of the Maya calendars: we just love the idea of ​​the apocalypse. However, this time it sounds a bit more seriously. Astronomers have discovered a huge star in the sky, that could well destroy the entire planet. Moreover, it is assumed that the appearance of a similar star has already led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

What it is

Gliese 710 is an orange dwarf spectral class K7. The mass of the star is very high and is more than half the Sun's mass, diameter, too, crosses over half the diameter of our own star. And now imagine a giant shimmering hellish fire, hurtling through space directly to Earth. This is what is happening right now.

Where is she now

Determining the exact mestanohozhdeniya Star Killer engaged astronomers Polish Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan. Glize 710 flies at 64 light years from the solar system. With that, one light year is equal to 9 461 000 000 000 km, to fly to the star we have for a long time.

On the verge of death

A little earlier the existence of Gliese 710 is not very bothered scientists: a star was to be held at a safe distance of one light year. However, to date, astronomers have gained much more dire predictions - Glize 710 fly only 77 light-days away from Earth.

The Oort Cloud

Clashes as such do not need to fear. Scientists are more concerned with not the problem. The fact that the star will pass through the so-called Oort cloud (the area around our system composed entirely of comet nuclei). The researchers suggest, if the gravitational field cause fluctuations wandering stars around the cloud. Comets from the Oort cloud would be in the very solar system and likely to crash into Earth.

The star Gliese 710 trigger comet rain from about 10 comets per year for 3-4 million years - the Newport Giorgio, study co-author

The mixture as before

Some scientists suggest that a similar passage of stars through the Oort cloud provoked the fall of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. However, researchers are concerned about the very large size of Gliese 710 if it really slip through the cloud of comets, meteorites that caused her not only destroy our species - they are swept from the planet's orbit.