An independent confirmation of the future flyby of Gliese 710 to the solar system using Gaia DR2

TL;DR

This study independently confirms that the star Gliese 710 will pass close to the solar system in about 1.35 million years, potentially triggering a comet shower but unlikely to affect the inner planets.

Contribution

It provides an independent validation of Gliese 710's future flyby using Gaia DR2 data, refining previous estimates and confirming the star's close approach.

Findings

Gliese 710 will approach within ~13,366 AU in 1.35 Myr.

The flyby may trigger a comet shower affecting the inner solar system.

Results are consistent with previous Gaia DR1-based predictions.

Abstract

Gliese 710 is a K7V star located 19 pc from the Sun in the constellation of Serpens Cauda, which is headed straight for the solar system. Berski & Dybczynski (2016) used data from Gaia DR1 to show that this star will be 13366 AU from the Sun in 1.35 Myr from now. Here, we present an independent confirmation of this remarkable result using Gaia DR2. Our approach is first validated using as test case that of the closest known stellar flyby, by the binary WISE J072003.20-084651.2 or Scholz's star. Our results confirm, within errors, those in Berski & Dybczynski (2016), but suggest a somewhat closer, both in terms of distance and time, flyby of Gliese 710 to the solar system. Such an interaction might not significantly affect the region inside 40 au as the gravitational coupling among the known planets against external perturbation can absorb efficiently such a perturbation, but it may trigger a major comet shower that will affect the inner solar system.