We Were Just Saved From A Rogue Star Colliding With Our Solar System

WD 0810–353, coming within roughly half a light-year of the solar system, which is about 31,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, might provide a preview of what our Sun’s final stage will look like. Despite the distance, the gravitational influence of the rogue star could disrupt the Oort cloud, a collection of comets and icy bodies at the solar system’s outermost regions.

When this cloud is disturbed by a rogue star, its gravity could send some loosely bound icy bodies hurtling toward the inner solar system, posing a risk to Earth. However, the initial assessment of this rogue star’s trajectory was incorrect. The confusion was due to the white dwarf’s unusually strong magnetic field, a factor that Gaia had failed to consider.