What if Uranus collided with Earth?

Certainly, here's an expanded version of the scenario where Uranus collides with Earth, with a minimum of 600 words:

Imagine a world where everything seems normal. The sky is clear, and the Earth is spinning as it always has. It's been 30 days since Uranus first made its appearance in the night sky. Initially, it seemed as though our Moon had found an unusual celestial partner. But then, scientists and astronomers came to understand that something much larger was heading our way - a celestial catastrophe that would forever change the fate of our planet.

What led to Uranus becoming so unstable, and how would this epic collision affect the icy giant and the Earth? And let's not forget about the peculiar stench that would accompany this cosmic event. This is "What If," and today we delve into the dramatic scenario of Uranus colliding with Earth.

So, let's rewind to those seemingly normal days when Uranus lived a quiet life on the outskirts of our solar system, approximately 3 billion kilometers away from Earth. Suddenly, Uranus started to move closer, and it wasn't long before astronomers realized the impending disaster. According to their calculations, it would take Uranus 13 years to reach the point of collision with Earth. This provided us with a slight chance to prepare for evacuation, but this would be no ordinary planetary drill.

Planets don't just abandon their orbits for no reason, but somehow, Uranus did. It broke free and started hurtling through the solar system at an astonishing speed of around 1,000 kilometers per second. This unexpected velocity left us with a mere 30 days before the looming catastrophe. In the night sky, Uranus would shine like a brilliant blue star, growing larger and brighter with each passing day.

Our nights would be illuminated not only by the icy giant but also by countless shooting stars. However, these "shooting stars" wouldn't be stars at all. Uranus, on its way to Earth's orbit, would have to pass through the asteroid belt located between Jupiter and Mars. This journey would disrupt the stable orbits of many asteroids, sending some of them hurtling our way. Some of these asteroids could be as massive as 240 kilometers in diameter, significantly larger than the one responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs approximately 65 million years ago. The reality is that we would have nowhere to go, and we'd be left here to witness the end of times unfold right before our eyes.

As the first asteroids appeared in the sky, resembling shooting stars, Uranus would appear as big as the Moon, and it would continue to grow in size as it moved closer to Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, things would become increasingly chaotic. Because Uranus is about 15 times more massive than Earth, its gravitational pull would start to massively affect our planet. Volcanoes would erupt uncontrollably, spewing lava and ash into the atmosphere. Tremendous earthquakes would shake the Earth from within, leading to widespread destruction.

But that's not the only challenge we would face. Uranus has a unique and rather unpleasant feature - it smells like rotten eggs. The ice giant's upper atmosphere is mainly composed of hydrogen sulfide, the same gas that gives rotten eggs their characteristic odor. So, as Uranus approached, an unbearable stench would engulf the Earth, and even one whiff of it could render a person unconscious. Imagine an entire planet filled with the noxious smell of rotten eggs - it's enough to make anyone feel nauseous.

However, Uranus wouldn't be arriving alone. It would bring all of its 27 moons along for the ride. These moons, once thought to be harmless celestial companions, would now become harbingers of doom. They would start bombarding the Earth from all sides, contributing to the mayhem and destruction.

As a final act, Uranus would compress what remained of our atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise rapidly. This heat would lead to the ignition of our planet's atmosphere, effectively turning Earth into a fiery inferno. Our once-beautiful blue planet would fall in line and begin circling Uranus, eventually becoming one of its many moons.

Uranus wouldn't escape this collision without its own consequences. The last time it collided with another planetary object, which was twice the size of Earth, it was knocked off its regular axis. As a result, Uranus is the only planet in our solar system that spins on its side, rotating almost perpendicular to its orbit.

But for the Earth, this would be the end of the line. If, by some miraculous turn of events, life were to re-emerge from the remnants, we would witness the blue of Uranus on the horizon. It would appear just as awe-inspiring as if Earth had become one of Jupiter's moons.

This fictional scenario serves as a reminder of the vast and unpredictable nature of the cosmos, where even seemingly stable celestial bodies like Uranus can bring about catastrophic changes to our own planet. In the grand tapestry of the universe, Earth's fate may be uncertain, but the wonders and mysteries of the cosmos continue to unfold, offering us both inspiration and a sense of awe for the universe beyond.