NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — American scientists from the Institute of Planetary Science in Arizona have found that some sharp climate changes in the history of the Earth were caused by the influence of neighboring stars approaching our system. The study was published in the scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters (TAJL).
Experts have simulated the interaction of the Sun as it approaches other luminaries as it rotates around the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
About once every million years, the Sun approaches a neighboring star at a distance of 50 thousand astronomical units, or AU. (one AU is 150 million kilometers). And every 20 million years, the Sun passes by a star located 20 thousand AU, which is relatively close by cosmic standards.
The gravitational influence of other stars during such encounters disrupts the orbits of major planets in the solar system, and they, in turn, force the Earth to slightly change its trajectory around the Sun.
Such gravitational disturbances may explain ancient climate fluctuations. For example, 56 million years ago, the so-called Paleocene-Eocene temperature maximum occurred on our planet, during which average temperatures rose by 5-8°C.
The last such event happened about 3 million years ago.
Scientists noted that the influence of other stars appears to have had a major impact on the evolution of planets in the solar system, including Earth.
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