In the above article, we talked about how Proxima Centauri is not an ideal haven for humans as the sun ages. It is not appropriate for Wandering Earth to go to Proxima Centauri. So is there a star in the universe suitable for us to go to?
Milky Way
The Milky Way we live in is very large, with a diameter of at least 100,000 light-years. Scientists estimate that there are about 100 billion to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way. There are so many stars in the Milky Way, and not every one of them is friendly to Earth and humans. Therefore, we have to filter based on certain conditions.
Our conditions are that it must be close, young, "single" (without a companion star), and "look" like the sun (similar in size). means that we need to find a young sun that is not too far away for the earth. Why choose this way? Let’s analyze them one by one. Let's see if it makes sense.
sun
First of all, the distance should be close. Based on the setting in the movie The Wandering Earth, the average speed of the Wandering Earth reaches 506 kilometers per second, and it advances an average of 16 billion kilometers per year. This speed is already very fast, but it will still take 2,500 years to reach Proxima Centauri. So if the distance is too far, we can't go.
Secondly, stars must be young. We were forced to leave the solar system because the sun became old. Therefore, stars that are the same age as the sun should not be considered. As the sun grows old, so do they.
The third point is to avoid the distraction of the earth. For the sake of security, we have to require that stars should be single. Like Nanmen A and Nanmen B mentioned in the previous article, each star alone is a good place to go. But it would be bad if the two of them come together. When the Earth gets there, it starts to wonder, "Who am I going to orbit around?" Due to the gravitational influence of the two stars, the Earth's orbit may become very unstable. In short, having two or more suns in the sky is not a good thing!
Double star system
Finally, it "looks like" the sun. means that it must be a sun-like star. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star, which is too far away from the sun. We have already analyzed the disadvantages in the previous article. Neither do stars many times larger than the Sun. Such stars often don't last long before they explode as supernovae. They are all time bombs in the universe. It's too late to hide, let alone go and flee.
has to meet so many conditions at the same time. Are there such stars in the universe? Yes, it is Eridanus IV. Let’s take a look at Tianyuan Four again.
Tianyuan Si is 10.5 light years away from the Earth. Among the stars visible to the naked eye, it is the third closest to the sun. Although its distance from the Earth is 2.5 times that of Proxima Centauri, it is still relatively close in the vast universe. If we can reach Proxima Centauri, we can also reach Tianyuan Si. It just takes a little longer.
天苑四
天苑四 is very similar to the sun. Tianyuan Si's mass is 85% of the sun, its radius is 84% of the sun, and its surface temperature is about 4800°C. These characteristics of Tianyuan IV are very similar to those of the sun. But its brightness is only 28% of the sun. This is because it is young.
Tianyuan Si is less than 1 billion years old. Astronomers estimate that Tianyuan 4 is between 500 million and 1 billion years old. It is about 3.7 billion years younger than the sun. It looks more like the sun when it was young. The brightness of the sun at that time was also relatively dim. However, as time passed, the brightness of the sun gradually increased. This means that when the sun ages billions of years later, Tianyuan 4 will just enter the "middle age period" when it is in the prime of life, its brightness will increase, and its temperature will rise.
天苑四
天苑四, like the sun, has no companion star. is so important. This means that the planets on Tianyuan 4 will not be disturbed by the gravity of the stellar companion and will orbit the star "wholeheartedly". Such a track is stable and safe.
Therefore, Tianyuan IV is the second sun we are looking for in the universe.
The Earth Bathed in Sunlight
Imagine that if we take the Earth to Tianyuan IV, we can get enough heat without getting too close to it, and the Earth that has been frozen for more than 6,000 years will begin to thaw. The atmosphere re-formed and the icebergs melted into oceans. People come out of the underground and breathe the fresh air. The sky is still so blue and the sun is still so bright. At night, people were sitting on the beach enjoying the cool air. An old man pointed to the stars in the sky and said to the children next to him: Have you seen that red star? It's called the sun. That's where we come from.
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