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Could we survive with many Suns? What If a big meteorite slammed into the Moon? And what if Earth turned into two planets? Check out more interesting and useful things about space and planets!
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00:00Is it possible for a planet to have not one, not two, but many suns?
00:05Let's imagine what would happen to us if the sun suddenly decided to break into a bunch of small stars.
00:12During the search for Earth-like planets throughout the universe,
00:16scientists have discovered that systems of two or even three stars are not actually that rare.
00:22Many of them even have planets in their habitable zones.
00:25Almost half of these planets could contain life.
00:28Can't wait to ask these guys about the sunsets.
00:33Scientists even suggest that our sun wasn't always lonely.
00:36It could have had a companion star called Nemesis.
00:41They've noticed that mass extinctions on Earth occur every 27 million years.
00:46It's like a cycle.
00:47So they turned to the stars to find out what the reason might be.
00:51And then they assumed that it was a star that left our sun a long time ago.
00:56But it still affects us.
01:00Nemesis could be located about 1.5 light years from us.
01:03It may not sound like a lot, but it's actually almost 9 trillion miles.
01:08That's going to be a fun car trip.
01:1050 million years long.
01:13Anyway, every time Nemesis passes its orbit, it can affect the Oort Cloud.
01:19The Oort Cloud is an area surrounding our solar system in which comets are formed.
01:24Its existence hasn't yet been proven, but scientists are pretty sure about it.
01:30So, comets form inside this cloud and then relocate to our solar system.
01:35Even being very far away, the second star in the system can have a great influence on it.
01:42But what about systems with four or even more stars?
01:47Is it even possible?
01:48Actually, yeah.
01:50But the more celestial bodies you add to the system, the more difficult it becomes.
01:55The orbits grow unstable.
01:57It's going to be as chaotic as can be.
02:00In stellar mechanics, it's called the three-body problem.
02:04It says that it's very difficult to predict the orbits of bodies in such systems.
02:09In most cases, they turn out to be very random and unique.
02:13Isaac Newton was the first to have noticed it.
02:16He tried to apply his gravitational discoveries to the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun.
02:21He found himself with quite a struggle.
02:24It wasn't easy to understand how three stellar objects orbit so stably around each other.
02:29And that's just a planet and a satellite.
02:32How about including several stars?
02:34I wouldn't envy those who'll have to calculate all this.
02:38Oh, right.
02:39It's me.
02:40Anyway, we know that triple star systems are ridiculously chaotic.
02:45But what about systems with more stars?
02:48They're very, very rare.
02:51In 2021, NASA discovered a star system of as many as six stars.
02:56That's just crazy.
02:58Of course, there are no planets in it.
03:01But who knows?
03:02Maybe one day we'll find such a system, too.
03:05In such worlds, the gravity dance is very complex.
03:09It takes very specific conditions to hold everything together.
03:12It's like walking on a tightrope over an abyss.
03:16With all this in mind, let's try to imagine what would happen if the Sun suddenly turned into several small
03:22stars.
03:23Oh, we're going to need a very detailed simulation.
03:26No, probably even a dozen simulations to make this thing work.
03:31Because otherwise, we'd only have a few options.
03:34Option 1.
03:36We divide the Sun into 5 to 10 tiny Suns.
03:39Now we'll scatter these guys not far from each other.
03:42They'll destroy our system in a couple of hours.
03:46Yeah.
03:47All star systems, including ours, are in constant motion across the universe.
03:51So, they'll crash into each other almost immediately.
03:55This collision will lead to the creation of a supernova.
03:59Our system will turn into a beautiful, colorful nebula.
04:02For us, it will happen in just a couple of minutes.
04:05We won't even have time to feel anything.
04:07And all the planets in the X solar system will immediately turn into sparkling space dust.
04:14Um, but it's not the best option for us, right?
04:18Let's see if it can go any other way.
04:21Option 2.
04:22Since they can't be located so close to each other, let's try to set them as far away as possible.
04:28And in this case, they'll just leave.
04:31Buh-bye.
04:32Their gravitational force is too weak to hold everything together.
04:35The little suns will simply leave the solar system, flying into space in random directions.
04:42After that, the rest of the planets will descend from their orbits, including poor little us, of course.
04:48We'll become a so-called rogue planet.
04:50At first, we won't even realize that the planet has gone out of orbit.
04:54And we won't have time to do anything before it gets incredibly cold.
04:58What a sad and poetic end.
05:01In general, none of these outcomes sounds very fun.
05:06Oh, all right, we still have the last option.
05:09Our main problem is that we make each of these little stars the same mass.
05:14But just take a look at all these multi-star systems that we've already discovered.
05:18You'll see that none of them look like a bunch of glowing balls together.
05:22Instead, there are a couple of large stars there, and the rest, the small ones, are orbiting around them.
05:29So how about two large stars and two small ones?
05:33What will the Earth look like then?
05:35Well, its orbit will become terribly unstable.
05:39We'll shake back and forth.
05:41Wouldn't recommend it, honestly.
05:43We know what this can lead to, because, and that's just crazy.
05:47This has already happened to us once.
05:49Yes, about 70,000 years ago, a lone star visited our solar system.
05:55It was a red dwarf called Schultz.
05:58A red dwarf is a very small and cold star.
06:01If you count 14,000 degrees Fahrenheit as cold, of course.
06:05But it's considered the weakest and coldest type of star.
06:09So it probably didn't look that big and bright in the sky.
06:12At that time, our ancestors, Homo sapiens, were already there living their lives.
06:18And can you imagine?
06:19They saw another star in the sky approaching the sun.
06:23I wonder what that looked like.
06:25And then, Schultz bypassed the sun and flew somewhere further to surf space.
06:31You weren't expecting some kind of disaster, were you?
06:33If it had happened, you wouldn't have had a chance to watch this video right now.
06:38But from this story, we can see what happens to the Earth during such stellar events.
06:43At that time, a huge amount of volcanic activity unfolded on our planet.
06:48We also got some meteor showers that almost wiped us out.
06:52Our ancestors sure had it rough.
06:54Something similar will happen on our hypothetical planet with four suns.
06:58But on a much greater scale.
07:01Constant volcanic activity, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
07:05Brrrr.
07:07In addition, the length of a day will change.
07:10As well as the length of all seasons.
07:13And a year as a whole.
07:14They won't be stable anymore due to the regular changes in gravitation.
07:19In other words, you'll never know when to expect an annual winter or hot summer.
07:23And when we are precisely in the middle between two stars, there won't be any nights at all.
07:29They'll illuminate both parts of our planet.
07:32And we'll have to sleep in bright sunlight.
07:34And if you think this is a bad thing, keep in mind that we'll also be attacked by much more
07:40ultraviolet rays and solar winds because of our four suns.
07:44Their color will also change.
07:46They'll become red dwarfs, looking distinctly orange scarlet in the sky.
07:51We'll also get many more solar eclipses.
07:54Except, instead of the moon, the sun would be eclipsed by another sun.
07:59It would probably just get a little darker.
08:03To be honest, it's unlikely that anything would survive on Earth after all this.
08:08I mean, it is possible.
08:10But please run a hundred simulations yourself if you want to make sure.
08:14But theoretically, we could survive in a simple binary star system.
08:19For example, in one that consists of two stars close to each other.
08:23Each of them would have to be two times smaller than our sun.
08:26That would be the perfect scenario.
08:29And it's quite possible in the future.
08:31NASA is currently working on a plan to relocate our descendants to Proxima Centauri B.
08:38That's a planet near the closest star system to our sun, Alpha Centauri.
08:42And who knows?
08:44Maybe one day in the future, we'll really move there.
08:47Then we'll see what it's like to live with several suns.
08:51What would happen if our planet turned into two separate ones?
08:55One consisting entirely of land and the other one of water.
08:59Could we survive on any of them?
09:01And how?
09:02Well, you're lucky because I'm going to answer this question right now.
09:06So, let's imagine that our Earth has turned into two separate planets sharing one orbit.
09:11Let's call these hypothetical planets rock and water.
09:15I know, I know.
09:16Very original.
09:17Anyway, let's start with the rock because this one is much easier to imagine.
09:21All we should do is ask, what would happen if all the oceans on the Earth suddenly dried up?
09:27Now, we know that water is life.
09:29It covers 70% of the surface of our planet.
09:32There's so much water that even if all the oceans and seas disappeared, some of it would
09:37still be left in underground rivers, streams, and so on.
09:40But, unfortunately, it would not be enough for us to survive.
09:44All sea creatures disappear.
09:46After some time, all other animals, plants, and, of course, people share their fate.
09:52Completely dried forests burst into flames sooner or later and burn until there is nothing left
09:57but ashes.
09:58But, hey, it's not that bad.
10:00Well, it is bad, but life can still exist in some form.
10:04There are some bacteria that make cockroaches jealous.
10:08They're able to survive absolutely any conditions.
10:11For example, extremophiles have already evolved to live without water.
10:15These little guys can survive in an incredibly hot or acidic environment without water or even
10:20sunlight.
10:21Without them, the rock becomes an empty, lifeless planet.
10:25Although, who knows?
10:26Maybe someday, extremophiles will be able to evolve into some wildly cool forms that can
10:32survive literally anywhere.
10:33But, for now, the rock is just a floating rock, basically.
10:37Oh, wait.
10:38Did you imagine a hot desert or some sort of red-hot steppes?
10:41Surprise, surprise!
10:43This planet is actually extremely cold.
10:46You see, without water, there would be no atmosphere.
10:48The atmosphere consists of a concentration of various gases, including hydrogen and oxygen.
10:54Some H and O.
10:55You know where this is going, right?
10:57Yep.
10:57No water.
10:58No atmosphere.
10:59And since it is the atmosphere that accumulates all the heat we need,
11:03the planet would be very cold without it.
11:06The contrast between cold and less cold places also becomes very sharp.
11:11You see, water is basically a climate stabilizer.
11:14The oceans absorb almost all of the heat of our sun.
11:17They distribute it evenly over the Earth to make sure it doesn't get too cold or too high.
11:22So, without it, the rock gradually turns into a cold desert.
11:27The average temperature on this planet is around minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
11:32At both poles, the temperature is extremely low, about minus 300 degrees.
11:38And even in the warmest places, it doesn't exceed 20 degrees.
11:42These warm places are now the former oceans, because their dried-up depths are located much closer to the hot
11:49core of the planet.
11:50Wait, I hope you don't imagine this planet as covered in snow, either.
11:53We don't have any water at all, remember?
11:56It's just a very cold rock.
11:58At this point, we're just a bigger and browner version of the Moon.
12:02The Moon is basically a waterless piece of Earth, after all.
12:05But hey, what happens to volcanoes?
12:08They're basically our last hope to stay warm, aren't they?
12:11Unfortunately, volcanic activity is decreasing due to a lack of water.
12:16You see, volcanoes and their eruptions happen because of the collisions of two tectonic plates, the oceanic and continental ones.
12:24The weight of the water presses on the oceanic plates.
12:27They go under the continental plates and form volcanoes.
12:30So, if there's no water weight, then there's no volcanoes, and volcanic activity drops significantly.
12:37The rock now is just a planet full of many incredible high mountains.
12:42And every time the tectonic plates collide, they form more and more of these mountains and trenches,
12:47including some very big ones, like the famous Mariana Trench.
12:51I would say, be careful not to fall, but hey, there's no one to fall there.
12:55So, also, there's no weather anymore.
12:58No water means no more snow, ice, or rain, or even clouds.
13:02The wind would probably be quite strong, though.
13:05Well, that's the fate of the planet rock.
13:08Not very bright.
13:09So, let's just go see how the water planet is doing.
13:13Many, many billions of years ago, I wasn't around then,
13:16our Earth actually was a planet entirely covered with water.
13:20Then, about a billion years ago, the sea level dropped.
13:23The land appeared.
13:24This has changed the atmosphere of our planet forever, and that's how life was born here.
13:29But what happens if it returns to its original state?
13:33Well, to answer that question, we should first learn more about the ocean planets.
13:38So, what does one of these look like?
13:40Oh, sorry, I almost forgot.
13:42We have no idea.
13:43We haven't found any planets of this type, because they're incredibly rare.
13:48I mean, there is one planet that is low-key, and could be called an ocean planet.
13:52Yeah, I'm not even going to try and pronounce that.
13:55Still, even this one doesn't look the way you probably imagine.
13:59The water on it is in a very weird, unique state.
14:02Scientists have called this hot ice, or superliquid water, and we've never seen anything like this before.
14:08In general, though, the actual ocean planets are very hard to find, due to many physical reasons.
14:14These planets require very specific temperatures, pressures, and so on.
14:18But, alright, just hypothetically, what would such a planet look like?
14:22Well, first of all, of course, it cannot be made entirely of water.
14:26I hope you didn't actually think that there could be just some gigantic water blob spinning around a star.
14:32It should still be a planet with a core and some kind of foundation.
14:36So, let's just imagine that all the water on the former Earth has mixed into one giant salty ocean.
14:43Wow, that would be a dream come true for the sea creatures, but not for the rest of us.
14:48The only animals that could survive in this situation, except fish, are probably the birds that can swim and feed
14:54on fish.
14:55Now, I think even if the sea level rose significantly, at least a couple of islets could still stay above
15:01the water.
15:01Such islands would be the former peaks of huge mountains like Mount Everest.
15:06So, if these birds build their nests there, they can even survive for some time.
15:10But, what about you and me?
15:12Well, we still have a chance.
15:15If we had enough time to prepare for the huge flood, we could stay safe either in giant submarines or
15:20on giant ships.
15:22We can grow food on board and fish from the ocean.
15:25But without the Everest islands, we are unlikely to last long.
15:29If something breaks and we have nowhere to dock, we won't be able to fix it.
15:34Unfortunately, we no longer have drinking water.
15:36Now, we can get it only from rain or by filtering seawater.
15:40But we have to store it someplace, right?
15:43And all these water containers would take up a lot of space and be very heavy.
15:47But, in general, planet water is not as bad as it might seem.
15:51It's quite warm.
15:52The average temperature here is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
15:55And the gap between the lowest and highest temperatures is minimal, from minus 20 degrees at the poles to 70
16:02degrees at the equator.
16:03Compared to planet rock, this ain't bad at all.
16:06Planet water would also be slightly larger than the Earth in radius due to the volume of, yes, water.
16:13The density of this planet would be, on the contrary, quite low.
16:17The gravity could become a bit weaker, too.
16:19Now, as for both planets, if we placed them in the Earth's orbit, after some time, they would still move
16:25away from each other and follow different trajectories.
16:28They would have aligned themselves not to collide with each other.
16:32On one of them, the year would last 12 months.
16:34And on the other one, 10 or 11.
16:37And that's about it.
16:38A fun fact.
16:39All of this can actually happen in the future.
16:41First of all, the Earth's crust is gradually becoming thinner.
16:45Hey, I like thin crust.
16:47On my pizza.
16:48On my planet, not so much.
16:50So, one day, water can really flood our entire land.
16:54On the other hand, in a couple of billion years, when our sun begins to expand and turn into a
16:59red giant, all the oceans on our planet will really dry up.
17:03Alright, take a deep breath and shake it out.
17:06That's enough of this grim fairy tale.
17:08Well, it's a waste of time to worry about such things so far off when, today, I can't find my
17:13wallet anywhere.
17:14I thought I put it over here.
17:17About 8 billion inhabitants of planet Earth found out the same terrible news in one day.
17:22Someone saw it on TV.
17:24Others heard it on the phone while scrolling through social media or listening to music.
17:29Some witnessed this news in a dream while sleeping.
17:32Someone's voice said it in all languages to ensure everyone understood it.
17:36I have good news and bad news for you.
17:39Let's start with the bad news.
17:41You're all characters in YouTube videos in which your planet gets into a situation where the moon breaks in half.
17:47For the audience, it will be a hypothetical story.
17:50But for you, these events will become a reality.
17:53The good news is that...
17:54I was joking.
17:56There is no good news.
17:57But don't worry.
17:58The apocalypse won't start on your planet.
18:00Maybe just a little bit.
18:01Have a nice day.
18:03At first, the entire population panics.
18:06Then, a few days later, everyone calms down.
18:09Maybe it was a mass hallucination and the moon will be alright.
18:12But at this moment, scientists have discovered the danger.
18:16A colossal meteorite is flying towards us from the distant depths of space.
18:21This meteorite is super fast and pretty flat but has sharp edges.
18:25Fortunately, it will miss the Earth by a few thousand miles.
18:28But the moon won't be that lucky.
18:31The meteorite flies through our Earth's only natural satellite directly in the middle.
18:36So, it passes through the moon, sweeps past our planet, and flies away into distant space.
18:42At this moment, all people can't take their eyes off the moon.
18:46The meteorite cuts it perfectly in half.
18:49Gently, clearly, painlessly.
18:51So, what shall we do now?
18:53Will the Earth survive this?
18:56Our satellite breaks into two equal parts.
18:59But, fortunately, they don't fly away from each other.
19:01The moon's great gravity attracts them back like a magnet.
19:05Scientists are sure that the parts will connect in a couple of billion years,
19:08and the moon will become the same as it used to be.
19:11But, the coolest thing is that people won't feel any changes.
19:15Everyone around the world will celebrate this good news.
19:18The voice was wrong.
19:19But then, another problem appears.
19:22A massive meteorite in the form of a shoe is flying from the deepest space to us.
19:28It enters our solar system and approaches the Earth at high speed.
19:32The space boot crashes into one half of the moon and then flies away.
19:37Now, the moon is definitely breaking into two parts.
19:40The first half remains in the same place.
19:42The second one is flying towards us.
19:45A small meteor shower begins on Earth because of the falling moon fragments.
19:49But, it's not so bad.
19:51Most of these rocks are burning up in the atmosphere.
19:54But, almost the entire split-off half is falling apart around the orbit of our planet.
19:59It forms a stone belt.
20:02Now, the Earth is like Saturn.
20:04Rotating fragments destroy part of our artificial satellites.
20:09Communication and the internet work inconsistently.
20:11It takes people a couple of years to restore a stable connection.
20:16The International Space Station no longer exists.
20:19Luckily, all the astronauts managed to return to Earth before half the moon got to them.
20:25So, moon rocks are flying around the planet and people see half the moon in the sky.
20:29Life doesn't change much for the first few days.
20:31But, those who live on the coast of the seas and oceans notice the consequences.
20:36The moon used to influence the tides.
20:39It was flying around the Earth and made oceans take an oval shape.
20:43There were tides on the side where the moon was closer.
20:45There were ebbs on the opposite side.
20:48But now, this schedule is wrong.
20:50Half of the moon attracts less water.
20:53Yes, the moon lost half its weight and began approaching the Earth.
20:57But, its gravitational force has become weaker.
21:01Seabirds, many species of fish, sea turtles, and other coastal animals may not survive these changes.
21:08Their natural instincts associated with the moon help them determine the time for getting food, breeding, and flying south.
21:16For example, tiny turtles expect a strong tide in the morning.
21:20They run to the water, but the water doesn't reach them.
21:23Turtles can't hide in the ocean in time and become dinner for seagulls.
21:28Crabs can't lay eggs because the tide has started earlier than usual.
21:32Wolves go mad in the woods.
21:34They howl loudly every night and can't stop.
21:37The whole natural world can't understand what's going on.
21:41The human body is also feeling some discomfort.
21:45Many people have low and high blood pressure, and some experience severe headaches.
21:50Half of the moon changes the entire ecosystem of the planet.
21:54Adapting to new conditions will take several tens, maybe hundreds of years.
21:59A couple of weeks pass, and people notice the days are now shorter.
22:03The moon always slowed the Earth's rotation and made one day last 24 hours.
22:08The Earth is spinning faster now.
22:11The night and the morning come earlier than everyone is used to.
22:17Earth's rotation speed has increased and reduced the number of hours per day to 15.
22:22People suffer from insomnia or oversleeping.
22:25The body needs time to get used to it.
22:28Work schedules are changing all over the world.
22:31Previously, people came to the office at 9 and left at 6.
22:34Now, they arrive at 7 and leave at 2 p.m.
22:38Sleep time got shorter, and people are really sad because of this.
22:43Progress slows down because the short working time.
22:46The technologies of the future are now 20 to 30 years late.
22:50Hourly pay remains the same, so bosses now pay less for fewer working hours.
22:56The whole moon stabilized the weather and climate on the planet.
23:00Look at Mars.
23:01It has two small moons.
23:02They quickly spin around it and rock Mars around on its axis.
23:06As a result, strong winds, sandstorms, and thunderstorms often happen on the red planet.
23:13Now, the half of the moon that approached us takes the Earth out of stable rotation.
23:18This changes the seasonal temperatures in the world.
23:21It even gets hotter in hot places.
23:23And snowstorms are raging in cold regions.
23:26There are short, massive downpours instead of sunny weather.
23:29A typical breeze can grow into a hurricane and small waves into a tsunami.
23:35The seasons are changing faster now.
23:38Winters are colder.
23:39And summers are hotter.
23:42Changing the rotation of the planet affects the Earth's magnetic field.
23:46Since the compass and navigation systems are unstable now, we need to recalculate where the north and south are.
23:53Birds can't fly south to wait out the winter since they don't know what direction to fly.
23:58Their inner compass is broken.
24:01Several hundred years have passed.
24:03People are entirely accustomed to the new conditions on Earth.
24:07New species of animals and fish have appeared.
24:10Birds can navigate the sky by the moon again.
24:13The planet's economy has been restored.
24:16Hourly wages have become higher.
24:17People now get enough sleep from 5 to 6 hours a day and work for 4 to 5 hours.
24:23The reduction of day and night has also affected the entertainment industry.
24:29Movies now last one hour.
24:31One episode of some TV series lasts 30 minutes.
24:35Life goes faster.
24:36An average person now lives to be 96 years old.
24:40In fact, the passage of time hasn't changed at all.
24:43Its calculus did.
24:45Several thousand years have passed.
24:48People look different now.
24:49Now, they have big eyes that absorb more light.
24:53Half of the moon doesn't shine as bright as the whole thing.
24:56So, the nights have become darker.
24:58It took the human eye a couple of thousand years to develop the ability to see clearly in this new
25:04dark.
25:06Animals need to navigate better in these conditions.
25:08So, their eyes have become larger and more sensitive.
25:11During all this time, people have cleared the orbit of moon rocks.
25:15Several space stations fly around our planet.
25:18And again, people hear this strange voice that once told them that they were all characters in one hypothetical YouTube
25:25video.
25:25This time, the voice says,
25:27Your story ends because the video ends.
25:30I'm sorry.
25:31Good night.