What would happen if the solar system got close to a neutron star?

[Zerxal]

Would some of the planets get thrown out of their orbits, or would all the planets and the sun just crash into the neutron star?

[Gaarst]

How close? A neutron star is between 1.3 and 3 solar masses, not going to do much at a few light years away.

Also the solar system can't get close to a neutron star, things usually don't drift off in space freely. Besides, the closest neutron star is a few hundred light years away.

[Zerxal]

13 minutes ago, Gaarst said:

How close? A neutron star is between 1.3 and 3 solar masses, not going to do much at a few light years away.

Like in the Kuiper belt.

[Vanamonde]

Get Universe Sandbox and try it out.* I have the old version and like to drop red dwarves on our solar system for giggles. 

*I am not affiliated with US, and do not get a cut. 

[Steel]

Ok, time for some misconception busting!

A Neutron star, much like black holes and other exotic phenomena, do not have any special gravitational effects. A 2 solar mass neutron star will have the same gravitational effects on our solar system as a two solar mass star or a two solar mass black hole (although I'm pretty sure you can't have a black hole with a mass that low), or any other object that has a mass the same as two Suns would. The only difference is when you get closer to a black hole or a neutron star the gravitational gradient is much larger than for a "normal object" because the mass is much more concentrated, so the surface gravity is much higher. However from a distance it acts exactly the same as anything else (at least gravitationally, a neutron star close by would probably sterilise the system with high energy radiation.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Steel

[daniel l.]

 

[KAL 9000]

Terrible things.