Former NASA Scientist's Crazy Theory On Moving Earth's Orbit By Asteroids

Scientists love freaking us out! A former NASA scientist, David Holz recently took to Twitter to share his bizarre take on increasing the natural life-cycle of planet Earth.

You see, our central star Sun has a pre-determined lifespan. In about 5.5 billion years from now, the Sun will expand and then collapse into itself.

Twitter / NASA

Marking the natural death of the star, it will decimate whatever falls in the pathway of its remnants, including Earth.

Read his Tweet below:

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. pic.twitter.com/lidW1ebaoD

¡ª David Holz (@DavidSHolz) August 10, 2021

Holz's bizarre solution

Holz has a solution to the same. Hear him out, alright? He's quite qualified to posit such extreme theories. Holz earnestly believes the best way to extend the lifespan of humans on Earth by 5 billion years is by changing the planet's orbital path.

Reuters

Essentially, Holz wants to move Earth's position in the solar system. He also suggests "stealing" energy from Jupiter's orbit.

Using giant asteroids, Holz wants to make the Earth's orbit bigger - essentially increasing the distance between the Sun and Earth.

Also read: Fastest Moving Asteroid In Our Solar System Finishes 1 Year In Just 113 Days

Calling it "out-of-this-world", Holz claims that with the right technology, moving Earth's orbit isn't a far fetched space dream.

To extrapolate his claims, Holz shared a screengrab from a new academic study published by NASA scientists in collaboration with professors from the University of California and the University of Michigan titled "Astronomical engineering: a strategy for modifying planetary orbits".

How do we alter Earth's orbit?

Holz added that expanding the Earth's orbit is possible by forcing an asteroid to pass through between Earth and Jupiter every 6,000 years. Freaking out yet? Don't! Nobody who is currently alive will be able to witness the grand fall of planet Earth, or its orbital switch - whichever works out first.

NASA

Currently, our central Sun is middle-aged, implying it's not collapsing on its own gravity anytime soon.

Also read: Bennu The Asteroid Poses More Danger To Earth Than Previously Thought: NASA

But even before the cataclysmic event happens, Earth will become extremely hot for humans in a billion years from now.

In response to a query from a Twitter user, Holz suggested that the optimum size of the asteroid to achieve orbital supremacy be 130 kms x 130 kms x 130 kms.

Yup that's about right!

¡ª David Holz (@DavidSHolz) August 11, 2021

This isn't the first time Holz has shared his radical space takes on Twitter. In February 2020, he suggested fitting gigantic solar panels over the atmosphere to block the Sun's rays and adjusting the Earth's temperature manually, something like the horrible film Geostorm.

What do you think about moving Earth's orbit in space in order to prolong its lifespan billions of years away from now? Let us know in the comments section below, and keep visiting Indiatimes.com for your dose of quirky science and space news.