Posted: 3/11/2010 3:16:10 PM EDT
| How big would an object have to be to affect the sun by impact?Solid versus gas,etc. |
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big enough to where the gravitational forces would be strong enough to take some of the plasma / matter with it on impact. The physical projectile wouldn't do shit - it would have to be gravitational forces.
Something the mass of Jupiter or bigger (going sufficiently fast enough) in an intercept course (tangiental) should make a pretty big effect. The Sun would sit there and say "that tickles!" but it ought to still be noticable.... I believe the Earth is roughly 1/37th the diameter of the Sun - not sure on total mass. |
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define "effect."
If you mean "have a noticable effect (visible from Earth via good intruments)" then some of the larger asteroids would do the trick. If you mean "cause serious damage," i.e. solar storms that would cause problems on Earth... RRA's answer would be about right. An object that large, colliding with the surface of the sun with sufficient speed, would cause an ejection plume that could wreak havoc on the Earth. And it would last long enough to cause serious harm. Smaller planets would have a similar but lesser effect. Again, however, it depends on the amount of energy involved. An Earth-sized object, colliding at, say, 1/4 C, would have a far greater effect than if it simply dropped out of orbit. (C = speed of light.) |
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Quoted:
big enough to where the gravitational forces would be strong enough to take some of the plasma / matter with it on impact. The physical projectile wouldn't do shit - it would have to be gravitational forces. Something the mass of Jupiter or bigger (going sufficiently fast enough) in an intercept course (tangiental) should make a pretty big effect. The Sun would sit there and say "that tickles!" but it ought to still be noticable.... I believe the Earth is roughly 1/37th the diameter of the Sun - not sure on total mass. The Sun has a volume of approximately 1.3 million Earths. The mass of the Sun is approximately 332,900 times that of the Earth. Jupiter is 317 times the mass of Earth. The volume of the Sun is 600 times that of all the other objects in the Solar System. It would take quite a large something, moving at a serious relative velocity to cause any serious effect on the Sun. There's a comparison site where if you were to have the Sun the size of a junior basketball (approx. 8" in diameter) the Earth would be a peppercorn and Jupiter would be a pecan. |