Dhaka, June 22 -- Earth could be thrown off its orbit and flung into another planet or even the Sun due to gravitational disturbances caused by passing stars, a new scientific study has warned.

The research, published in the journal "Icarus", suggests that passing field stars - those appearing near the same sky region as other celestial objects - may have a much greater influence on the Solar System's stability than previously believed.

Based on thousands of computer simulations, the study found that if a star with mass similar to our Sun were to pass within 10,000 astronomical units (AU) of our Solar System, it could significantly disrupt the Oort Cloud - the distant spherical shell of icy objects that marks the outer boundary of the S...