Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune could destroy each other sooner than we thought, simulations hint
The outer solar system will descend into chaos just a few billion years after the sun exhausts its fuel — much sooner than scientists previously thought, a new study suggests.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune may meet their demise sooner than previously believed, according to new simulations. The sun's final days as a red giant may cause chaos in the outer solar system, with the massive planet-destroying collisions occurring within three billion years of the sun's transformation. Scientists previously thought these four gas giants would remain largely intact for hundreds of billions of years, but recent observations suggest the sun's mass loss may be more erratic than expected.
This could lead to the planets colliding with one another and being ejected from the solar system altogether. The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, could also impact our understanding of exoplanets orbiting certain types of stars.
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