Moving Earth is a theoretical

astroengineering Engineering on an astronomical scale, or astronomical engineering, ''i.e.'', engineering involving operations with whole astronomical objects (planets, stars, etc.), is a known theme in science fiction, as well as a matter of recent scientific r ...

concept that involves physically shifting

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

farther away from the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

to protect the planet's

biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

from rising temperatures. These expected temperature increases derive from long-term impacts of the

greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere insulate the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature. Surface heating can happen from an internal heat source (as in the case of Jupiter) or ...

combined with the Sun's

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

process and steadily increasing luminosity. The approach has been acknowledged by some planetary scientists, including some at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Various mechanisms have been proposed to accomplish the move. The most plausible method involves redirecting

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

s or comets roughly about 100 km wide via

gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

assists around Earth's orbit and towards

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

or Saturn and back. The aim of this redirection would be to gradually move Earth away from the Sun, keeping it within a continuously habitable zone. This scenario has many practical drawbacks: besides the fact that it spans timescales far longer than human history, it would also put life on Earth at risk as the repeated encounters could cause Earth to potentially lose its

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, severely disrupting Earth's climate and rotation. The trajectories of each encounter would need to minimize potential changes to the Earth's axial tilt and period of rotation. Lengthening the Earth's orbital period would also lengthen its seasons, potentially causing disruptions to life at higher and lower latitudes due to extended winter and summer months, as well as causing significant changes to global seasonal weather patterns. Additionally, the encounters would require said asteroids or comets to pass close to Earth; a slight miscalculation could cause an impact between the asteroid or comet and Earth, potentially ending most life on the planet.

See also

References

Further reading