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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鈥檚 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 inhospitable.

Given the timescales involved, you might think this is someone else鈥檚 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

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25 minutes

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