Consequences of an Earth-size object hitting the Sun?

Suppose an extra-solar object the size and mass of the Earth, travelling at a speed of $26\ \mathrm{km/s}$, the same of ʻOumuamua (the first known interstellar object crossing our solar system), hit the Sun at its equator.

What would be the consequences to the Sun in terms of heating and heliosphere modifications in the minutes immediately following the impact and in the following days/weeks?

What would be the consequences on Earth from this impact?

The Sun photosphere is very thin, with a density of about $3\times10^{-4}\ \mathrm{kg/m^3}$, compared with the object density of $5.5\ \mathrm{t/m^3}$, so the impact with the external layers will be relatively light. Before suffering significant damage the extra-solar object will sink deeply into the Sun, causing damages to the more internal layers, probably smoothing and reducing the effects outside.

I am also interested in understanding the speed at which the phenomena would affect our planet.

Update

I did some researches and found a similar event happened in relatively recent time on Jupiter when, in 1994, the Comet Shoemaker"“Levy 9 hit Jupiter, fragmented due to a previous closer approach to Jupiter in July 1992.

Citing from the Wikipedia: "The largest [impact] coming on July 18 at 07:33 UTC when fragment G struck Jupiter. This impact created a giant dark spot over 12,000 km (7,500 mi) across, and was estimated to have released an energy equivalent to 6,000,000 megatons of TNT (600 times the world's nuclear arsenal)". This fragment of comet was something like 2 Km in diameter.

"Despite published predictions,] astronomers had not expected to see the fireballs from the impacts and did not have any idea in advance how visible the other atmospheric effects of the impacts would be from Earth. Observers soon saw a huge dark spot after the first impact. The spot was visible even in very small telescopes, and was about 6,000 km (3,700 mi) (one Earth radius) across. This and subsequent dark spots were thought to have been caused by debris from the impacts, and were markedly asymmetric, forming crescent shapes in front of the direction of impact."

I think that this impact is very likely to be comparable with the one that could occurr between the Sun and the Earth-like object for the following reasons:

1. Jupiter is a gas giant planet, with density in the upper part of the atmosphere very similar to the Sun.
2. Proportions between the objects are very similar (Jupiter has a mass one-thousandth that of the Sun) and the comet object a diameter that is roughly one-thousandth of the Earth.
3. The impact speed was approximately $60\ \mathrm{km/s}$, that is not so distant from the supposed speed of the Earth-like object.

My very personal conclusion is that on the Sun the effects would be very evident, with a huge spot that expands for several tens of terrestrial diameters, probably followed by a huge plume of incandescent gas.

The consequences would not be so significant for Earth, apart from a terrible electromagnetic storm with probable huge repercussions on telecommunications.

It remains to understand the effects on the average temperature of the sun and the relative temperature changes that the Earth would face.

posted almost 5 years ago

Nicola Lepetit‭

1 reputation 1 0 0 0