Download the all-new Republic app:

Published 17:24 IST, August 23rd 2021

Ex-NASA scientist proposes wild theory to prevent Earth burning when Sun begins expansion

David Holz, a former NASA scientist, has proposed a theory to expand the distance of Earth from the Sun in order to preserve the blue planet and human species.

Reported by: Ajeet Kumar
Follow: Google News Icon
  • share
(Image Credit: Pixabay) | Image: self
Advertisement

David Holz, a former NASA scientist, has proposed a theory to expand the distance of Earth from the Sun in order to preserve the blue planet and human species for at least 5 billion more years. According to the scientist, the planet will burn up unless humans don't 'steal' energy from Jupiter’s orbit. The Ph.D. scholar also proposed using giant asteroids to make the Earth’s orbit bigger. He said that the proposed plan would help the scientists in enlarging the distance of Earth from the Sun. Though, the former NASA scientist affirmed that the idea he is pitching is 'out-of-this-world', but claimed it would have good results if the space-related technology comes together.

Read the tweet of the NASA scientist here:

New academic papers published by NASA and other universities have elaborated about Holz idea 

In order to make his idea more concrete, Holz took to the microblogging site to share a screengrab from a new academic paper published by NASA, University of California, and University of Michigan professors. The paper is titled, 'Astronomical engineering: a strategy for modifying planetary orbits.' "Earth burns in a billion years when the sun expands. UNLESS we steal energy from Jupiter to gradually expand Earth's orbit! We can *actually* do this by diverting a large asteroid (0.01% the size of the moon) to pass between Earth and Jupiter every 6000(!) years," read the NASA scientist's Twitter post on August 10 referring to a time that will come billions of years from now when the Sun reaches the end of its lifespan, at which point it will expand multi-fold and even engulf the Earth within itself, before finally collapsing in on itself due to its own gravity. The Sun, a main-sequence star, is roughly at the middle of its estimated lifespan at the moment.

Advertisement

Idea must be repeated after every 6,000 years: Scientist

According to him, in the coming years, the temperature of the blue planet would rise to such an extent that it becomes difficult for humans as well as animals to survive. He suggested stealing the energy from Jupiter which would be further used to expand the Earth's orbit. Also, he proposed that the idea must be repeated after every 6,000 years in order to make Earth safe.  
It is worth mentioning that he is the same scientist who had proposed to build country-sized solar panels and suggested to place high above the atmosphere to block the Sun’s rays. This would help the scientists in adjusting the Earth’s temperature manually.

Asteroid bigger than Burj Khalifa passed by Earth at speed of 94,208 Kmph, confirms NASA

Recently, NASA scientists said that an immensely huge asteroid, which is believed to be bigger than the world's tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa, has passed by planet Earth on Saturday, August 21. The asteroid had been classified as "potentially hazardous" and has been named "2016 AJ193" by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is around 1.4 km wide and 4,500 feet in diameter. According to reports by the US space agency, the asteroid, which is a cluster of 1,000 rocks, will pass by Earth at a speed of 94,208 km per hour - about 26.17 km per second.

Advertisement

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

17:24 IST, August 23rd 2021