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In this video, we will explore the possibility of Earth becoming a rogue planet, a planet that does not orbit any star and wanders in the darkness of space. We will examine the causes and consequences of such a scenario, and how life on Earth would be affected by it. We will also compare Earth to some of the known rogue planets in the galaxy and see how they differ from each other. Join us as we embark on this fascinating journey into the unknown.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:01 Rogue planets
08:35 What your body would be like on other planets
11:24 What if all planets were Earth-sized
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
#brightside #brightsideglobal
TIMESTAMPS:
0:01 Rogue planets
08:35 What your body would be like on other planets
11:24 What if all planets were Earth-sized
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00In 2021, astronomers announced that they had found between 70 and 170 free-floating planets.
00:07Such planets are also called rogue, because they don't orbit around any star.
00:12And the majority of these huge, unattached planets, each approximately as large as Jupiter,
00:17dwells in one particular region of the Milky Way galaxy.
00:20It's known as the Upper Scorpius OB Stellar Association.
00:25Wow, doesn't it sound like the name of some homeowner's association?
00:28Anyway, this conclusion was made by a team of astronomers that used telescope observations from all over the world and
00:36in space.
00:37They also looked through 80,000 wide-field images taken over a couple of decades.
00:42Scientists have estimated there might be billions or even trillions of rogue planets wandering around our galaxy.
00:48If their estimations are true, it might mean that the Milky Way contains more free-floating planets than stars.
00:57This region of the sky is around 420 light-years away from Earth.
01:01A lot of amateur astronomers are familiar with it, since lots of cool stuff is located there.
01:07The most famous targets for astrophotographers include dark nebulae, like Bernard 68,
01:14Coal Sack, or Pipe Nebula, as well as the Cullifer region around Roe Ophiocchi.
01:19But let's get back to mysterious rogue planets.
01:23They wander the galaxy alone, totally untethered.
01:26Without stars, they don't have days or nights, only eternal darkness.
01:31Of the thousands of planets scientists have detected outside of our solar system,
01:36only a dozen or so are starless and cruising on their own.
01:40Recently, astronomers have announced one more finding, the tiniest known rogue planet.
01:45The mass of this space traveler is somewhere between the masses of Earth and Mars.
01:50The term itself, a rogue planet, suggests that such celestial bodies might desert their stars on purpose.
01:57They wander off on their own, carving a new path through the Milky Way.
02:01But the reality is much more tragic.
02:04Rogue planets are usually kicked out of their star systems,
02:08doomed to a solitary existence of circling the center of the galaxy on their own.
02:13How sad!
02:14You see, things get messy when planetary systems, including ours, form.
02:19While planets appear from the cosmic dust surrounding a newborn star,
02:23they jostle one another around.
02:25This gravitational game of pool can easily shove some planets toward the edges of a star system,
02:31or eject one or two of them altogether.
02:34Then there are also nearby stars that can shove planets around too.
02:39Most stars are not born on their own.
02:41Clusters of dozens to thousands of stars often appear in space.
02:45No wonder that in such a crowded environment,
02:48a star with its own set of planets might whisk away a planet or two from another star.
02:54After stealing a planet, it can keep it for itself or cast it out into space.
03:00At the same time, some free-floating planets might form in a different way,
03:05with no parent star to help them.
03:07They appear from collapsed clouds of gas and dust, just like stars do.
03:12But sadly, they don't manage to put on enough weight to start nuclear reactions,
03:16the ones that make stars emit light.
03:18These objects are also known as failed stars.
03:22Hey, who said they failed?
03:24And they resemble planets.
03:26Rogue planets are very hard to detect.
03:28When astronomers want to find an exoplanet,
03:31they look for something blocking the light of its parent star.
03:34That's usually the planet passing between the star and the observer.
03:38But researchers can't use the same technique with free-floating planets,
03:42because, in this case, there's no parent star.
03:45The only way to locate them is to rely on gravity.
03:49Now, imagine a line of sight between a telescope on Earth and a distant star.
03:54When an object crosses that line,
03:56its presence is likely to bend and magnify the star's line.
04:00This, in turn, makes the star appear brighter than usual.
04:04As for the duration of this brightening,
04:06it depends on the nature of this moving object.
04:09If the brightening lasts a few days, it's a star.
04:12If the duration is about a day or so,
04:14it's a Jupiter-mass object.
04:16And if it's just a couple of hours,
04:18this object is something that equals the mass of our planet.
04:22But the trickiest part is to figure out
04:24whether this object is indeed a rogue planet.
04:27It's true that stars whose light such celestial bodies bend
04:31can't be their parent stars.
04:33They're too far away.
04:34But there still might be a parent star,
04:37invisible because of the glare of the luminous star.
04:40And astronomers have to wait up to a decade
04:43for the luminous star to move a bit
04:45to check for a potential parent star.
04:47If there's still no parent star in sight,
04:50then it's proven.
04:51The planet is traveling solo.
04:53One thing is clear.
04:55Without parent stars to warm them,
04:57rogue planets are frozen worlds.
04:59Even if ice doesn't go all the way down to their cores,
05:02it certainly covers such planets with hard, icy shells.
05:06On the bright side,
05:07maybe free-floating planets aren't as lonely as we think.
05:11They might have moons of their own.
05:12They probably take them along
05:14when they get pushed out of their cosmic homes.
05:16Even more exciting,
05:18these exomoons might have liquid water.
05:21At least that's what a 2021 study
05:23published in the International Journal for Astrobiology claims.
05:27Actually, I don't get that magazine,
05:30but it sounds fancy.
05:31But could a free-roaming world find a new home
05:34near a different star?
05:35Some experts think it's unlikely.
05:38The universe is an incredibly spacious place,
05:40and even a large star is hardly able to slow down enough
05:44to lasso a fast-moving planet.
05:47For example, in 2017,
05:49an interstellar guest,
05:50an asteroid the size of a skyscraper,
05:53appeared in our solar system.
05:54It barreled through the solar system
05:57and just kept going without stopping or slowing down.
06:00But what if it was a rogue planet?
06:02Would it stay with us?
06:04Astronomers say it's unlikely.
06:07If it happened,
06:08they would be thrilled such a research opportunity.
06:10But the rest of us would likely be terrified
06:13by the implications of having such a neighbor.
06:16At the same time,
06:17maybe it wouldn't be such a big problem,
06:19considering how big and very empty our solar system is.
06:23But even without a rogue planet invading our solar system,
06:27the orbits of our planets are going to change one day.
06:30In 5 billion years or so,
06:33the sun will start to dim.
06:35It'll begin to lose its mass
06:37until its gravity is too weak
06:39to hold on to the outermost planets of the solar system.
06:42Neptune, Uranus, and probably Pluto
06:44might turn into rogue planets.
06:46They will slowly drift away,
06:48unbothered by the cold,
06:50and mostly unchanged
06:51due to their already frozen environments.
06:54And yeah,
06:54I know the scientists demoted Pluto as a planet years ago.
06:58But it's still a planet to me.
07:00So sue me.
07:02And what about Earth?
07:04Oh, our planet will have a different fate,
07:06much more tragic.
07:07As stars lose mass nearing the end of their lives,
07:11they eject gas and dust in all directions.
07:14And since our planet is in the way,
07:16it'll most likely get enveloped in this scorching stream
07:19and vaporize.
07:21But calm down.
07:22It won't happen for a few more billion years.
07:24And who knows where humanity will be at that time?
07:28As for now,
07:29astronomers hunt rogue planets with enthusiasm.
07:32For example,
07:33NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
07:36is going to conduct a survey
07:37to discover more free-floating exoplanets
07:40using its powerful techniques
07:42of a wide-field telescope.
07:44The stars in our Milky Way galaxy
07:46move all the time.
07:48And chance adjustments of the telescope
07:50can help researchers spot rogue planets.
07:53But there's one drawback.
07:55We won't know the distance to such a planet
07:57even if we find one.
07:59There's one more mission concept
08:01cleverly called Cleopatra.
08:03It might be able to exploit parallax effects
08:06to calculate the distances to rogue planets.
08:09Parallax is a shift in the position
08:11of a foreground object
08:12when seen by observers
08:14in slightly different locations.
08:16To maximize this effect,
08:18Cleopatra might hitch a ride
08:20on a Mars-bound mission.
08:21It's supposed to place it in orbit
08:23around the Sun.
08:24That's a sufficient distance from Earth,
08:26which can help the mission
08:28effectively measure the parallax signal
08:30and fill in the missing information
08:32for astronomers.
08:34Check out that buff dude over there
08:36with the orange skin.
08:37He's been chilling on Mars for a hot minute,
08:39which is why he looks like
08:40he used the wrong shade of self-tan.
08:42You see, all those carotenoids
08:44and carrots, sweet potatoes,
08:45bell peppers, tomatoes, and pumpkins
08:47are protecting him from those UV rays.
08:49The more he eats, the more orange he gets.
08:51And as for his sturdiness,
08:53it's all about that Martian gravity.
08:57The gravity here makes us perceive
08:58our weight differently.
08:59And if you want to be a boss on Mars,
09:01you've got to eat heavily.
09:03Like, if a person weighs 150 pounds on Earth,
09:06it feels like no more than 55 pounds on Mars.
09:09So, overeating can help shorten
09:11that gravity-to-weight gap.
09:13Mercury is a whole different thing.
09:15It's hotter than Georgia asphalt during the day,
09:17but colder than Elsa's castle at night.
09:19You've got to be made of metal,
09:20with a high melting point
09:21to be able to survive here.
09:23But for us regular humans,
09:24we'd be toast.
09:26Literally.
09:27Even though Mercury's the closest planet to the Sun,
09:29Venus is still the hottest one.
09:31Life on Venus...
09:33More like life on the Sun's evil twin.
09:35The temperature here typically hovers
09:37around 870 degrees Fahrenheit on average.
09:41Surviving at the boiling point of water,
09:43or in the extreme heat of Venus,
09:45is a challenge for most earthly species.
09:47Only a select few can endure boiling hot temperatures.
09:50Others rush to Starbucks to grab an iced latte
09:52with the first beams of the spring sun.
09:55So no human being can really evolve enough
09:57to survive on Venus.
09:59The only creatures that could thrive there
10:01are probably tardigrades
10:02and those weirdos who put hot sauce on everything.
10:05You wonder what tardigrades are?
10:07Well, those are minuscule
10:08and adorable caterpillar-like creatures
10:10that possess remarkable durability.
10:12They can endure boiling water,
10:14the depths of a sea trench,
10:16and the frigid, lightless void of space.
10:18Recently, tardigrades were included
10:20in a scientific study aboard a spacecraft
10:22that unfortunately crashed on the Moon.
10:25Scientists speculate that the tardigrades
10:27may have survived the impact.
10:28Hey, would you like to turn into this creature
10:31and live on Venus?
10:32We're done with terrestrial planets.
10:34Let's move on to gas giants.
10:37Now look at this dude from Saturn.
10:39He's got flippers and not arms.
10:40He's got small holes
10:41with no external ear flaps
10:43instead of regular ears.
10:44Most of this gas giant
10:45is colder than your ex's heart,
10:47as the temperature is about minus 220F.
10:50You can't walk on it,
10:51but you can turn into a snowball
10:52or an ice crystal if you're feeling frisky.
10:55Things are quite similar on Jupiter,
10:57so probably turning into a seal
10:59and chilling there
10:59is not that bad of an idea.
11:01At least you can live there rent-free.
11:04And don't even get me started
11:05on Neptune and Uranus.
11:07These guys are ice giants
11:08with no solid surface,
11:10so those sharp-clawed dudes
11:11you see in movies?
11:12Yeah, they don't exist.
11:14Plus, these two ain't exactly
11:15hospitable to life.
11:16I'll stick to my sweet potatoes on Mars.
11:19Thank you very much.
11:20Have you ever wondered
11:22what it would be like
11:22if every planet in our solar system
11:25was the size of Earth?
11:27Well, it's time to dive
11:28into this mind-boggling scenario.
11:31Let's imagine what each planet
11:32would look like
11:33if they were as big
11:34as our beloved blue planet.
11:36Would the barren red landscape of Mars
11:39suddenly become a lush green oasis?
11:42Would the massive swirling gas giant Jupiter
11:44just disappear?
11:46And how would it affect
11:47our solar system as a whole?
11:49Are we all doomed?
11:50Buckle up, and let's find out!
11:53The first planet on our list is Mercury,
11:56the smallest planet in our solar system.
11:59But now, forget about the moon-like Mercury.
12:02Instead, picture yourself on the surface
12:04of a superdynamic incandescent inferno.
12:08There are a lot of craters
12:10and active volcanoes around you,
12:12and right in front of you
12:13is a huge, blinding, bright sun.
12:15What a nightmare!
12:16But let's break these changes down.
12:19Well, along with the size of Mercury,
12:22both its mass and gravity would increase.
12:25In that case,
12:26it's possible that Mercury
12:27would have more atmosphere.
12:30Temperatures on Mercury are extreme,
12:32not only because it's very close to the Sun,
12:34but also because of its very thin atmosphere.
12:37So, during the day,
12:39the temperatures there reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
12:42And at night,
12:43it becomes terrifyingly cold,
12:45down to negative 290 degrees Fahrenheit.
12:49But now,
12:51when the gravity is stronger,
12:52Mercury could have a denser atmosphere,
12:55so the heat would be better distributed
12:57across the planet.
12:58And the atmosphere isn't the only thing
13:01that could make it hotter.
13:02If Mercury became bigger,
13:04it would likely experience
13:05increased internal heating
13:07due to gravitational compression.
13:09And, hypothetically,
13:11its tectonic activity could increase.
13:14In other words,
13:15more interesting landscape,
13:16more mountains,
13:17and more scary active volcanoes.
13:20Congratulations!
13:21You've turned Mercury into Venus 2.0.
13:24For us,
13:25all these changes wouldn't be very pleasant.
13:28Now,
13:28it would become much harder
13:30to send our spacecraft there,
13:31so it's better for Mercury to stay as it is,
13:34small,
13:35calm,
13:35and boring.
13:38Basically,
13:38the complete opposite
13:39of our next planet,
13:41Venus.
13:42So,
13:43what would happen to Venus
13:44if it was Earth-sized?
13:46Actually,
13:47nothing.
13:47It wouldn't change at all.
13:49All because Venus
13:50is already almost the size of Earth.
13:52It's even called the Earth's twin,
13:54although twin is a big word,
13:57of course.
13:57In reality,
13:58we couldn't be more different.
14:01Venus is often called
14:02the Morning Star
14:03because it's so bright
14:05and visible in the sky.
14:06But don't let its beauty fool you.
14:08This planet is one of the most
14:10inhospitable places
14:11in our solar system.
14:13Its surface is hotter
14:14than a freshly baked pizza,
14:16around 900 degrees Fahrenheit,
14:18and it's covered in thick clouds
14:20of sulfuric acid
14:21that would dissolve
14:22any human
14:23who tried to visit.
14:24So,
14:25unfortunately,
14:26you won't be planning
14:27any trips there
14:28anytime soon.
14:29So,
14:30let's move on to a planet
14:31that,
14:32unlike Venus,
14:33could potentially become
14:34a new home for us,
14:35Mars.
14:36Picture yourself
14:37standing on Mars' surface,
14:39watching the blue sunset
14:40and breathing in
14:41a refreshing breeze of air.
14:44Yes,
14:44you read that right,
14:45air.
14:46Moreover,
14:47you could be surrounded
14:48by plants,
14:49animals,
14:49and basically feel
14:51like you're on Earth.
14:52But,
14:53how is that possible?
14:55Bigger Mars would have
14:56a stronger magnetic field
14:57and gravity.
14:58This would lead to a richer
15:00and denser atmosphere.
15:01It would likely have
15:03a wider range of gases,
15:04including oxygen.
15:06Wouldn't that be cool?
15:08Also,
15:09a denser atmosphere
15:10could distribute heat
15:11across the planet,
15:12so Mars would become
15:14much warmer
15:14and cozier.
15:16And here comes
15:17the most important change,
15:18liquid water.
15:19Mars actually has
15:21some frozen water
15:22at its poles
15:22and in subsurface reservoirs.
15:25But,
15:25with a stronger
15:26gravitational pull,
15:27it could potentially
15:28stabilize liquid water
15:30on its surface.
15:31Hooray!
15:32However,
15:33it's not all fun and games.
15:35New Mars would also have
15:36a volcanic personality.
15:38It's already
15:39geologically active,
15:40but now,
15:41its internal heat
15:42and pressure
15:42would skyrocket.
15:44That means
15:45more frequent
15:46and more crazy
15:47volcanic eruptions.
15:48imagine how exciting
15:49it would be
15:50to witness such eruptions
15:51on another planet
15:53if you manage
15:54to escape the consequences.
15:56In general,
15:57the planet could become
15:58greener and lusher,
15:59but not safer,
16:01although it would still
16:02be great to see it.
16:04But,
16:05it's time to move on
16:06to the giants
16:07of our solar system.
16:08And if we're
16:09enlarging the planets
16:10before,
16:11now it's time
16:11to squeeze them
16:12really,
16:13really hard.
16:15If Jupiter
16:16became 11 times
16:17smaller,
16:18oh boy,
16:19what a disaster
16:19that would be.
16:21The first thing
16:22we'd notice
16:22is a change in gravity.
16:24And I say
16:24we'd notice
16:25because now
16:26we'd have no choice
16:27but to move somewhere.
16:29Jupiter experiences
16:30from 30 to 100
16:31collisions
16:32with large asteroids
16:33per year.
16:34No big deal?
16:36All because
16:37of its strongest gravity,
16:38which attracts them all
16:39and protects us.
16:40But now
16:41our big protective brother
16:43has turned into
16:43a small baby.
16:45Say hi
16:45to a bunch
16:46of asteroids!
16:47Oh,
16:48and say bye-bye
16:49to Jupiter.
16:50This planet
16:50is known
16:51for its thick
16:52swirling atmosphere.
16:53But with a weaker
16:54gravitational pull,
16:55Jupiter would probably
16:56have a hard time
16:58holding onto it.
16:59So over time,
17:00it would slowly
17:01escape into space,
17:02leaving behind
17:03a thin atmosphere
17:04composed mainly
17:05of nitrogen
17:06and oxygen.
17:08We'll also
17:09have to bid
17:10farewell
17:10to the iconic
17:11appearance
17:11of another giant,
17:13Saturn.
17:14The most noticeable
17:15difference would be
17:16the disappearance
17:17of its famous rings.
17:19Made up of small
17:20particles of ice
17:21and rock,
17:22the rings are
17:23a unique feature
17:24of Saturn.
17:25But with Earth's
17:26gravity,
17:27they would either
17:27fall onto the planet
17:28or scatter into space.
17:31Bummer.
17:32Saturn is also
17:33a gas giant,
17:34just like Jupiter.
17:35Its atmosphere
17:36is made up
17:37of mostly hydrogen
17:38and helium.
17:39But if it were
17:40Earth-sized,
17:41its gases would
17:42be compressed
17:42due to the
17:43increased gravity.
17:44This would make
17:45it much denser.
17:47That means,
17:48Saturn's overall
17:49size and shape
17:50would change.
17:51Theoretically,
17:52if we squeeze
17:53Saturn hard,
17:54it could potentially
17:55become a brown dwarf.
17:57It's a type of
17:58failed star
17:59that lacks the mass
18:00to sustain
18:01nuclear fusion,
18:02but emits heat
18:03and light.
18:04So,
18:05Saturn could stop
18:06being a planet
18:07altogether.
18:08The weather on it
18:09would probably
18:10have changed too.
18:11All its crazy storms,
18:13such as the famous
18:14hexagonal storm
18:15at its north pole,
18:16would have become
18:17weaker and calmer.
18:19The next giant
18:20is Uranus.
18:21Let's try to
18:22compress this
18:23poor fella.
18:24First off,
18:25the surface gravity
18:26on Uranus
18:27would be much weaker
18:28than it is now.
18:29Its atmosphere
18:30might also change.
18:31If Uranus
18:32was smaller,
18:33it could have
18:34a thinner atmosphere
18:35and different gases
18:36all together.
18:37This planet
18:38is pretty chilly,
18:39with an average
18:40temperature
18:41of negative
18:42353 degrees Fahrenheit.
18:44Bleh!
18:45But,
18:45if it was
18:46the size of Earth,
18:47it might actually
18:48warm up a bit
18:49due to its reduced
18:50volume to surface
18:51area ratio.
18:52Don't get too excited,
18:54though.
18:54It would still be
18:55way colder
18:55than the coldest
18:56spots on Earth.
18:57As you can see,
18:59gas giants
19:00don't easily
19:00go through
19:01all this shrinking,
19:02except perhaps
19:03one of them.
19:05Surprisingly,
19:06small Neptune
19:06would become
19:07much friendlier.
19:08For starters,
19:09it would probably
19:10be a rocky planet
19:11with a tiny atmosphere.
19:12That means
19:13no more gas giant,
19:14but instead,
19:15a planet that's
19:16easier for humans
19:17and critters alike
19:18to live and move
19:19around on.
19:20Speaking of movement,
19:22because of the
19:22smaller size,
19:23the gravity
19:24on this new Neptune
19:25would be almost
19:26the same as Earth's,
19:27making it a heck
19:28of a lot easier
19:29to walk and jump around.
19:30No more floating
19:32away into space.
19:33Now,
19:34the atmosphere
19:35of the original Neptune
19:36is so thick
19:37you could barely
19:38see your hand
19:38in front of your face.
19:40And the surface pressure
19:41is about 100 times
19:43that of Earth's atmosphere.
19:44But our new Neptune
19:45would be much different,
19:47with a much thinner
19:48and less dense atmosphere.
19:50It would still have
19:51some methane,
19:51water,
19:52and ammonia in it,
19:53but nowhere near
19:54as much as before.
19:55Finally,
19:56the temperature.
19:57Bleh!
19:58The current Neptune
19:59is freezing,
20:00with an average temperature
20:02of about negative
20:04370 degrees Fahrenheit.
20:05But if it was
20:06the same size as Earth,
20:07it would likely be
20:08much warmer,
20:09just like Uranus.
20:11Ah,
20:12that's more like it.
20:13What a planet
20:13that would be.
20:15That's it for the
20:16changes in the planets.
20:17But what would happen
20:18to the entire solar system
20:20if we made
20:20all the planets
20:21so small?
20:22It's hard to predict,
20:23but it's clear
20:24that their gravity
20:25and orbits
20:25could change a lot.
20:27It's unlikely
20:28that any of them
20:29would have flown
20:29into outer space,
20:30or crashed into each other,
20:32or something like that.
20:33But many of their orbits
20:34would probably become
20:36quite unstable.
20:37And the number of collisions
20:38with asteroids
20:39would have increased
20:40significantly.
20:41Of course,
20:42all this is purely speculation.
20:44It's not like
20:45we can actually test all this.
20:46But it's still
20:47a pretty interesting
20:48thought experiment,
20:49and it makes you appreciate
20:50just how unique
20:51and special
20:52our solar system
20:53really
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