As we gaze into the vastness of space, one unsettling prospect lingers: billions of years from now, our Sun will become a red giant, engulfing Mercury, Venus, and potentially Earth. But wait—there's a more immediate threat lurking in the cosmos!

A groundbreaking simulation brings to light the ominous possibility of a rogue star passing too close to our solar system, jeopardizing the stability of our planetary home. Published in the esteemed journal Icarus, the study indicates that such stellar encounters could lead to catastrophic collisions between planets or even launch Earth into the depths of space.

Typically, astronomers regard our solar system as a self-contained entity; however, the Milky Way brims with stars that might disrupt this delicate balance. New findings suggest that these interstellar wanderers could sway planetary orbits, leading to dire consequences, especially for Mercury.

Mercury, being the closest planet to the Sun, is uniquely vulnerable. Its orbit is already prone to eccentric changes, and under the influence of a nearby star, it could veer off course, sparking potential collisions with Venus or even the Sun itself.

Researchers conducted a staggering 2,000 simulations using NASA's Horizons System, which meticulously tracks celestial objects. The results were alarming: close encounters with passing stars could render our solar system up to 50% more unstable over the next 5 billion years.

Chillingly, this study highlights that Pluto faces a 3.9% chance of being ejected, while Mercury and Mars appear most likely to be lost in these cosmic close calls. Although Earth has a slightly lower instability rate, its risk of orbital disruption increases significantly if another planet were to collide with it.

The researchers ominously concluded, "The nature of stellar-driven instabilities is more violent than internally driven ones... The loss of multiple planets during stellar encounters is common, whereas internal chaos is rather rare."

Perhaps most surprisingly, the study revealed that the likelihood of Earth’s orbital instability is hundreds of times greater than previously thought. So as we marvel at the stars, we might just have one more cosmic dilemma to ponder as we consider our place in the universe.