WHAT IF URANUS COLLIDED WITH EARTH

It has been 30 days since Uranus first became visible in the sky. Initially, it seemed as though our moon had gained a celestial companion, but we soon realized that something far more immense was approaching.

What made Uranus so unstable? How might this massive collision transform the ice giant? And... what’s that awful stench?

Welcome to What If, where we explore what would happen if Uranus collided with Earth.

Let’s rewind 30 days to when everything was still normal. Uranus quietly resided on the fringes of our solar system, approximately 3 billion kilometers away. Then, without warning, it began moving closer.
Astronomers would be the first to sound the alarm. Based on their calculations, Uranus would take 13 years to reach the collision point. Time would be tight, but it might still give humanity a slim chance to evacuate Earth. However, the icy blue giant seemed to have other intentions.

This wouldn’t be your typical planetary event. Planets don’t just abandon their orbits without reason—yet, somehow, Uranus did. Now, it would be careening through the solar system, accelerating to an astonishing speed of about 1,000 kilometers per second.

Because of this unexpected velocity, we’d have only 30 days left on Earth. Uranus would glow like a brilliant blue star in the sky, appearing larger and brighter with each passing day. Our skies would look breathtaking, not only because of the ice giant’s luminous presence but also due to countless shooting stars streaking across the heavens—though those wouldn’t be stars at all.

To reach Earth’s orbit, Uranus would need to pass through the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. This journey would destabilize the orbits of numerous asteroids, sending many hurtling toward us. Some of these asteroids could measure up to 240 kilometers in diameter—several times larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

With nowhere to escape, humanity would be forced to witness the apocalypse unfold. Might as well take in the view, right? By the time the first asteroids appeared as shooting stars, Uranus would already look about the same size as the moon, growing larger and brighter with each passing moment.

As humanity awaited its doom, Uranus would begin to wreak havoc on Earth. Being approximately 15 times more massive than our planet, its gravitational pull would shake things up in unimaginable ways.

The gravitational pull of Uranus would wreak havoc on Earth, triggering relentless volcanic eruptions and catastrophic earthquakes, tearing the planet apart from the inside. And the stench? It would be unbearable.

Just one whiff could knock you out, as Uranus’s upper atmosphere is primarily made of hydrogen sulfide—the same compound responsible for the foul smell of rotten eggs. Now imagine an entire planet of rotten eggs enveloping Earth. The mere thought of it is enough to make anyone feel sick.

But Uranus wouldn’t arrive alone—it would drag all 27 of its moons along for the chaotic journey. These moons would bombard Earth from all directions, delivering a cataclysmic, fart-filled finale. As if things couldn’t get worse, Uranus’s immense gravitational force would compress what remained of Earth’s atmosphere, and the skyrocketing temperatures would ignite it.

In an instant, our once-vibrant blue planet would fall in line, becoming yet another moon orbiting the icy giant.

However, Uranus wouldn’t escape unscathed. The last time it collided with a planetary object—twice the size of Earth—it was tipped over onto its side. To this day, Uranus remains the only planet in our solar system that spins sideways, a lasting testament to its turbulent history.


This collision with Earth might actually help Uranus tilt back to its original orientation, undoing its sideways spin. But for our home planet, that would be the end.

If, by some miraculous twist, life were to reemerge from Earth’s stinking remnants, the view of Uranus on the horizon would be breathtaking. The icy blue giant would dominate the skies, just as majestic as the view from one of Jupiter’s moons.

But that’s a story for another What If.