Perturbation of the Oort Cloud by Close Stellar Approaches
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Garcia-Sanchez, J..
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
We have combined Hipparcos proper motion and parallax data for nearby stars with ground-based radial velocity measurements to find stars which may have passed (or will pass) close enough to the Sun to perturb the Oort cloud.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Hipparcos proper motion and parallax data are combined for nearby stars with ground-based radial velocity measurements in order to identify stars which may have passed, or will pass, close enough to the sun to perturb the Oort cloud. Close stellar encounters could deflect large numbers of comets into the inner solar system, with possible serious consequences for impact hazards on the earth. Only one star, Gliese 710 is found with a predicted closest approach of less than 0.5 pc, although several stars come within 1 pc during a 8.5 M year interval. In most cases, the uncertainty in closest approach distance is dominated by uncertainties in the barycenter motion of binary systems. A program to obtain new radial velocities for stars in the sample with no previously published values is underway.
We have combined HIPPARCOS proper motion and parallax data for nearby stars with ground-based radial velocity measurements to find stars which may have passed close enough to the sun to perturb the Oort cloud.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.