Quite amazing the things people can come up with to worry about.
PROJECT LUCIFER: WILL CASSINI TURN SATURN INTO A SECOND SUN? (PART 1)
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: No, of course not, how could that possibly happen?
Here is the proposed conspiracy theory, which pretty much beats all other conspiracy theories I’ve ever heard of:
NASA (in association with secret organizations, such as the Illuminati or the Freemasons) wants to use this plutonium [That powers Cassini] for a “higher purpose”, dropping Cassini deep into Saturn at the end of its mission where atmospheric pressures will be so large that it will compress the probe, detonating like a nuclear bomb. What’s more, this will trigger a chain reaction, kick-starting nuclear fusion, turning Saturn into a fireball. This is what has become known as The Lucifer Project. This second sun will have dire consequences for us on Earth, killing millions from the huge influx of radiation by this newborn star. Earth’s loss becomes the Saturn moon Titan’s gain, suddenly it is habitable and the organizations playing “God” can start a new civilization in the Saturn system.
…… Okay, really?
Click through to the linked article if you’d like to see this particular conspiracy theory taken apart.
On a completely trivial note, why are there ” ” around “God” in the paragraph quoted above? “Playing God” is a widespread, normal metaphor. Could “people” quite using ” ” at random “moments” for no good “reason?”
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Isn’t this sort of Clarke’s 2010? Well, the ending and without aliens I guess.
I’d say those little probes of ours are simply too small to make much of a difference with all the mass Jupiter and Saturn already have of their own.
Irina, I would have thought anyone would kind of consider that obvious, but conspiracy theories know no limits, I guess.
AFAICT there’s no bottom to the well of conspiracy theory nonsense.
Bonus question: how far away would a second sun have to be for it not to interfere with Earth significantly? Would igniting Neptune hurt us? Maybe an unknown trans-Plutonian gas giant.
Probably someone out there has answered that question, because the well of SF-fan geekiness runs nearly as deep as conspiracy-theory nonsense.