I've always wanted to know and I know the chances of this event are mega slim but I was just curious...
2007-03-20 03:42:19 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Well, they never will collide:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/pluto-ez.html
But if the never became reality, then there'd be a whole lot of new crap floating around in the kuiper belt. Overall, I'd say the net effect on earth would be zero.
2007-03-20 03:47:24 · answer #1 · answered by Brian L 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's unlikely that Pluto and Neptune should ever get up close and personal, since they are locked into a 3:2 orbital resonance. But, if they ever got together, here are at least 4 scenarios, based on current theories.
1. Capture--If Pluto comes in at the right trajectory and speed, it will become trapped in Neptune's gravity well and become a new satellite (interestingly, an old but disproven theory was that Pluto was an escaped moon). This was how Neptune's moon Triton came to be, based on its orbital data.
However, its days as a satellite would probably be numbered (for example, Triton will fall within its Roche limit in about 3.6 billion years).
2. Collision--Pluto crashing into Neptune would be a spectacular sight. Although very rare, this event was pretty common early in the solar system. Earth's moon was created by such a collision, as well as the Pluto-Charon system. The resultant fallout may create a new batch of satellites, and a ring system as spectacular as Saturns.
3. Tidal tearing--If Pluto were traveling fast enough, and if it's density is too weak to hold it together when it passed, Neptune's gravity would pull it apart. A somewhat similar process occured when Jupiter captured Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Neptune will probably have a string of temporary satellites that could eventually crash into the planet or add to the ring system.
4. And it's outta here!--If Pluto doesn't get too close and picks up enough momentum, Neptune can eject it either into the inner solar system, or out into the nether realms of deep space. Scientists have seen examples of binary star systems where stars were 'kicked out' of the group.
These would be likely 'what if' scenarios, based on our current knowledge of astrophysics.
2007-03-20 12:01:46 · answer #2 · answered by swilliamrex 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They will never collide. Two poor grad students in England had to calculate Pluto and Neptune's orbits for the next one hundred million years and they calculated that they would come close to each other at no point. They were able to extrapolate this into saying that they will never collide.
B
2007-03-20 11:34:13 · answer #3 · answered by Bacchus 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No .. they don't share the same orbital plane. When pluto crosses Neptune's orbit it is outside any spot Neptune could ever be at.
2007-03-20 10:49:12 · answer #4 · answered by Gene 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Their paths never actually cross. Pluto's orbit is eccentric, that is tilted at an angle. The areas where the orbits overlap when viewed from above/below don't line up when the viewing angle changes.
2007-03-20 10:57:40 · answer #5 · answered by corvis_9 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
their orbits are slightly skewed from each other in the orbital plane, that they would never actually meet. Most people are confused by this as they only see the solar system from a top down view in charts and textbooks...
2007-03-20 10:55:35 · answer #6 · answered by xooxcable 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if it does then major disaster
2007-03-20 12:05:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋