phillies wrote:Keith_w wrote:You would, along with the remnants of the planet upon which we are standing, be pulled along in the wake of your hypothetical giant planet.
It's not quite that simple. Angular momentum and energy conservation mean that the solutions are orbits, not 'drags along'. One solution is that we gain considerable angular momentum and are ejected from the solar system along our own orbit. Another outcome is that we lose our angular moment, and up falling into the Sun.
On a different note "c is the largest speed allowed" refers to speed as measured by a local observer. An observer a large distance away, further from the Sun that the photon, can infer that the photon is moving faster than the canonical c, as measured from her distant location. Infer? The travel time is less than expected. This effect has been observed experimentally.
It is my belief that if a sufficiently large object were to pass by the earth, it would probably result in the destruction of the earth as a result of tidal forces (ie, gravity) stressing various points of the planet differently at different times. I also think, that depending on its position in its orbit, the moon may return to earth in an untoward manner. Many of the remnants of our home would then be dragged along with the impinging planet, most likely including a major portion of the population. By "dragged along" I do mean captured by its gravitational forces which may or may not result in achieving oneness with the atmosphere and/or surface of said planet.
I agree that no matter what, in each of the possiblities, the results for the living on our planet would be catastrophic.