Main content

How to move the Earth

The plans to use lasers or asteroids to move our planet away from the sun

Using lasers or asteroids to move our planet away from the sun may sound extreme, but a few scientists have come up with plans to do just that.

The sun’s power is slowly increasing. Over the next billion years or so, the extra energy is going to boil off the oceans and make the Earth in hospitable.

Given the timescales involved, you might think this is someone else’s problem. But such is the human enthusiasm for problem-solving, potential solutions have been found - from shooting asteroids past the Earth to creating a gigantic solar sail.

We meet the scientists who are trying to figure out how to save the planet from the sun.

Presenter: Kat Hawkins
Reporter: Tom Colls

Image: The Earth in space. Credit: Getty Images

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Mon 6 Jan 2020 00:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 03:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 04:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 06:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 07:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 14:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 15:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 18:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 20:06GMT
  • Tue 31 Dec 2019 21:06GMT
  • Mon 6 Jan 2020 00:06GMT

People fixing the world on YouTube

Watch stories of people changing their world on the World Service English YouTube channel