Since objects that orbit us (Earth) such as satellites tend to eventually fall back into our atmosphere and burn up, is the Moon ever in danger of colliding with Earth because of this phenonmenon? Also why do satellites fall back to Earth? Lastly what about the planets and the sun colliding?

Current configuration of the solar system is VERY stable.

So it's likely to stay that way more or less, for at least another 1 to 2 billion years.


ALTHOUGH... that's not to say that you wouldn't notice some huge changes in the system, a billion or two years from now.

For example, Mars will loose its moon Phobos well before then, in which Phobos will crash into the surface of Mars in a pretty spectacular fashion!

Also, Saturn might lose its beautiful network of rings (I hope not!).


AS FOR EARTH...

Earth's landscape and the way Earth looks from space will be very different... with continents having long since drifted off into new jumbled configurations, and possibly even the loss of oceans on Earth, as the sun gets continuously hotter as time passes.

In fact, unfortunately... 1 or 2 billion years from now I doubt Earth will be a beautiful blue-green-white sphere.

It will probably increasingly look more like a cross between Mars and Venus in the next billion years or so! Some say this could even begin happening as early as "only" 500 million years from now, as the sun will be significantly hotter by then.

So... enjoy it while you can!

/r/space Thread