Editor,

If you’re looking for something to worry about and climate change, pandemics, nuclear war, a super volcanic eruption and 9.0 earthquakes off the Pacific coast aren’t enough, try adding the possibility of an earth-ending collision with an orphan planet to your list. The number of these rogue planets is hard to estimate because it requires a technique called microlensing to find them, but it is likely to be well over a 100 billion in the Milky Way galaxy alone. Most planets in the universe are suspected of being orphans. They are everywhere: big and dark and cold and just wandering aimlessly through our universe. At least they’re not suspected of actually looking for something to slam into. If they were, we would call these meandering catastrophes Demon planets or Predator planets.

The odds of a rogue planet colliding with earth is extremely low, but so was the probability of electing Trump to a second term. If one does enter our solar system, it most likely will pass through or interact ever so slightly with an outer planet. If one is spotted heading our way, it would be interesting to watch how various countries react. Trump will blame it on other countries, or deny it is coming. Costa Rica will try to find a way to protect its national parks. France will probably name a truffle dish after it. Anyway, you should add orphan planets to your list of worries … right after the 2026 midterms.

Verrall Hoover

Langley