Earth heading for collision with Venus or Mars

by Stevie Smith - Jun 11 2009, 15:30

The Earth is destined for an explosive ending, according to scientific boffins that have predicted the orbiting patterns of a number of planets in our solar system could eventually overlap and cause one or more cataclysmic planetary collisions.

According to star-gazing scientists at the Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephemerides in Paris, advanced mathematical simulations have revealed a chance that either Venus or Mars will eventually crash into the Earth due to creeping changes in the gravitational relationship between Mercury and Jupiter.

After conducting more than 2,500 solar system simulations looking at how planetary orbits are gradually evolving, astronomers Jacques Laskar and Mickael Gastineau claim that, while 99 percent of the simulations did not result in collisions, 1 percent ended in planet ramming.

The team’s report, which is due to be published in this month’s issue of Nature, points the finger of blame in Mercury’s direction, with a deviation of just 0.38 millimetres in its trajectory likely to increasingly affect the orbit of Jupiter.

This, over time, would then see Jupiter’s massive gravitational force asserting its unavoidable influence over the orbital patterns of other planets, including the Earth.

Planetary collisions have already left their mark on the solar system, with the unusual tilted orbit of Uranus believed to have been caused by such an event, while our own moon formed billions of years ago from the remnants of a massive clash between the Earth and a Mars-sized body. 

However… Don’t panic! It’s worth noting that there’s little cause to consider planet-dodging suicide at this stage, not least because any potential brushes with doom aren’t likely to happen for around five billion years – and mankind is much more likely to have been wiped out by a major asteroid strike long before that.

See, nothing to worry about.

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